| | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | Presented by ExxonMobil | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | MIDDLE EAST LATEST — “Gaza cease-fire talks fail to achieve a breakthrough with Ramadan just days away, Egypt says,” by AP’s Samy Magdy, Tia Goldenberg and Wafaa Shurafa … “Mediators Try to Buy More Time as Israel, Hamas Dig In Heels on Truce Talks,” by WSJ’s Summer Said and Omar Abdel-Baqui
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Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) will make a run for Senate GOP whip. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | THE LEADERSHIP LIMBO — Wyoming Sen. JOHN BARRASSO took his hat out of the ring for the top slot of Senate GOP leadership, opting instead to make a run for party whip. The post would make him the second-most senior Republican in the chamber, giving him significant influence over floor action (plus a security detail and prime office space). “In a letter to his colleagues, Barrasso said the Senate GOP needs to ‘break from where we are now’ and said he would pursue more transparency if chosen as the GOP No. 2,” our colleague Burgess Everett reports. “Barrasso also spoke with former President DONALD TRUMP on Tuesday morning about his decision to run for whip.” With Barrasso out of the running, MITCH McCONNELL’s successor as GOP leader will likely fall to one of the other Johns — either THUNE or CORNYN, who have both formally announced bids for the post — though it’s possible that NRSC Chair STEVE DAINES could make a run, as well. Speaking of the Johns: Barrasso would mark the fourth-consecutive John or Jon to hold the position after stints from JON KYL (2008-12), Cornyn (2013-18) and Thune (2019-24), WaPo’s Paul Kane notes. TRENT LOTT was the last non-John. MEANWHILE: Sen. TOM COTTON (R-Ark.) said in an interview on Hugh Hewitt’s show that he will run to replace Barrasso as GOP conference chair, the No. 3 slot in the chamber. The question now will be who joins Cotton in the running. Iowa Sen. JONI ERNST could jump into the mix for conference chair or even another promotion if she chooses to vacate her post as Republican Policy Committee chair, the No. 4 slot. Intriguingly, Cotton’s decision signals that he may be in the Senate for the long haul, as presidential hopefuls rarely enter the party leadership fold. Cotton has long been the subject of speculation about a potential presidential run or VP bid. SUPER DUPER DOWNLOAD — As we covered extensively this morning, it’s Super Tuesday, the biggest day of voting so far this year — and one that will give us a much clearer picture of the outlook for the general election by tomorrow morning. What to do while you wait for results: Our colleagues will have you covered with all the news and nuggets that you need to know throughout the day on POLITICO’s live blog. Where to get results: Follow along with the latest numbers in real time at our election results hub. More Super Tuesday reads:
- “Senate Democrats mock GOP primary infighting — while facing some of their own,” by Burgess Everett and Nicholas Wu: “Even as they mock Republicans’ primary disarray in key battleground states, Democrats are facing their own drama in Maryland, New Jersey and California. That’s on top of senior Democrats’ push to dispatch long-shot challengers to their preferred Senate candidates in Texas and Michigan.”
- “‘Playing politics to win': Crypto spends big on Super Tuesday,” by Jasper Goodman: “A network of super PACs backed by major crypto firms and executives has spent more than $13 million to sway races in California, Texas, Alabama and North Carolina. It’s the largest spend yet from the groups’ $80-plus million war chest.”
Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at gross@politico.com.
| | | | A message from ExxonMobil: The world needs ways to reduce carbon emissions. At ExxonMobil, we’re working on solutions in our own operations – like carbon capture and clean energy from hydrogen – that could also help in other industries like manufacturing, commercial transportation and power generation, too. Helping deliver heavy industry with low emissions. | | | | | 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  President Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton will host a major event this month that is expected to deliver a huge fundraising haul. | Francis Chung/E&E News/POLITICO | 1. THE PRICE OF ADMISSION: “$100K photos, Colbert and a fashion doyenne: Details of the Biden fundraiser with three presidents,” by NBC’s Natasha Korecki: “A first-of-its kind fundraiser featuring three Democratic presidents this month is shaping up to be among the most lucrative in party history, according to a key organizer, forecast to raise more than $10 million and draw at least 3,000 people. In an interview, Biden Victory Fund national finance chair CHRIS KORGE laid out specifics of the March 28 soiree at Radio City Music Hall in New York featuring President JOE BIDEN and former presidents BARACK OBAMA and BILL CLINTON. “While tickets will sell for as little as $250, the premier perks will go to the high rollers. The cost for a chance to pose in a photo with all three Democratic presidents at once? $100,000 and up. Those who donate at the $250,000 and $500,000 levels will also have access to two separate receptions with the presidential trio. STEPHEN COLBERT, the host of CBS’ ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,’ is to hold what's expected to be a lively conversation with the three presidents as the centerpiece of the event. Musical guests are also in the works, as is a podcast tied to the event.” 2. TRUMP AMNESIA SYNDROME: What exactly do voters remember about the Trump years? NYT’s Jennifer Medina and Reid Epstein examine that question, which will be key to many voters’ 2024 decisions. “More than three years of distance from the daily onslaught has faded, changed — and in some cases, warped — Americans’ memories of events that at the time felt searing. Polling suggests voters’ views on Mr. Trump’s policies and his presidency have improved in the rearview mirror. In interviews, voters often have a hazy recall of one of the most tumultuous periods in modern politics. Social scientists say that’s unsurprising. In an era of hyper-partisanship, there’s little agreed-upon collective memory, even about events that played out in public.” Says ANDREW FRANKS, a professor of political psychology at the University of Washington: “Negative information about Trump is no longer distinctive, it is just the air that we breathe.” 3. LIGHTING UP GROUP CHATS ON THE HILL: “How ‘Dear White Staffers’ turned into an anti-Israel, antisemitic account,” by Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod: “Jewish Insider has been able to link the Dear White Staffers account to a staffer working for Rep. SUMMER LEE (D-PA) … Since Oct. 7, the account has evolved primarily into a stream of anti-Israel commentary, accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza and condemning the administration and Congress for continuing aid to Israel. It has, at times, leaned into antisemitic tropes, accusing one Jewish member of seeking the deaths of children .… Jewish Capitol Hill staffers, who have said they face an increasingly hostile workplace among their peers since Oct. 7, have pointed to the Dear White Staffers account, which is particularly influential among younger Capitol Hill staff, as contributing to that dynamic.”
| | | | On the ground in Albany. Get critical policy news and analysis inside New York State. Track how power brokers are driving change across legislation and budget and impacting lobbying efforts. Learn more. | | | | | 4. HOW TO WIN A PEACE: “The improbable U.S. plan for a revitalized Palestinian security force,” by WaPo’s Miriam Berger, Sufian Taha, Heidi Levine and Loveday Morris: “Post reporters were granted rare access to the training center, affording a look at the challenges faced by the Palestinian security forces — regarded by Washington as central to its plans for a strengthened Palestinian Authority that can help stabilize postwar Gaza. Despite two decades of reforms, the security forces remain chronically underfunded and widely unpopular, ill-equipped to take on the massive responsibilities that their Western backers are envisioning.” 5. BANK SHOT: “Bank Runs Spooked Regulators. Now a Clampdown Is Coming,” by NYT’s Jeanna Smialek and Rob Copeland: “After months of floating fixes at conferences and in quiet conversations with bank executives, the Federal Reserve and other regulators could unveil new rules this spring. At least some policymakers hope to release their proposal before a regulation-focused conference in June, according to a person familiar with the plans. The interagency clampdown would come on top of another set of proposed and potentially costly regulations that have caused tension between big banks and their regulators. Taken together, the proposed rules could further rankle the industry.” 6. SPY GAMES: “U.S. bans maker of spyware that targeted a senator’s phone,” by NBC’s Kevin Collier: “The sanctions constitute the most aggressive action taken by the U.S. government against a spyware company. The company, Intellexa, develops a software called Predator, which can take over a person’s phone and turn it into a surveillance device. Predator and other major spyware programs boast capabilities such as secretly turning on the user’s microphone and camera, downloading their files without their knowledge and tracking their location.”
| | | | 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 | | Tim Kaine invited Elizabeth Carr, the Virginia native who in 1981 became the first American born via IVF, to attend the State of the Union speech. Michelle Obama is officially not running for president this year. Elon Musk is closely watching a Texas DA race. Taylor Swift encouraged her followers to vote today. Sergio Gor, formerly known as “the mayor of Mar-a-Lago,” has been re-christened as “the patio panhandler” by some in Trumpworld. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “D.C. Is Raising Restaurant Pay. What Does That Mean for the Rest of Us?” by NYT’s Priya Krishna: “Higher prices? Fewer places? As several states consider lifting wages for tipped workers, here’s how the shift is already playing out in the nation’s capital.” OUT AND ABOUT — Hillary Clinton last night hosted the launch of the Institute of Global Politics’ Women’s Initiative at Columbia University, featuring a number of prominent U.S. and world leaders. SPOTTED: Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Stacey Abrams, Keren Yarhi-Milo, Ai-jen Poo, Alexis McGill Johnson and Jennifer Klein. — The American Sugar Alliance yesterday hosted its Keep it Sweet in America reception as part of its annual fly-in at Longworth. The reception brought together sugarbeet and sugarcane farmers from across the country with members of Congress and their staffers. SPOTTED: Nancy Peele, Murray Miller, Desiree Koetzle, Emily Hytha, Aaron Calkins, Amanda Bihl, Trevor White, Aaron Weber, Ashley Smith, Thomas Leopold, Nick Lunneborg, JP Freire, Ainsley Schoen, Jordan Wood and JR Rodriguez. MEDIA MOVE — Noah Shachtman is returning to Wired as a contributing editor, per Semafor’s Max Tani. He previously was editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Ryan Tully is now VP of government relations for Stratolaunch, a hypersonic company owned by Cerberus. He most recently ran European/Russian policy and the Strategic Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, and is a Trump NSC alum. TRANSITIONS — Mitchel Herckis is now global head of government affairs at Wiz. He most recently was branch director for federal cybersecurity in the Office of the Federal CIO at OMB. … The New Democrat Coalition Action Fund has added Jon Gonin as political director and Amelia Schouten as a finance assistant. Gonin previously managed Rep. Tom Suozzi’s (D-N.Y.) special election campaign. Schouten was previously at the American Society of Anesthesiologists. … Tom Spence is now a senior adviser at the Heritage Foundation. He previously was president and publisher at Regnery Publishing. ENGAGED — Tia Bogeljic, legislative director for Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), and Justin Folsom, legislative director for Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), got engaged Saturday. They met through mutual friends during Nationals World Series festivities in 2019. Pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Jon Bergner, president of Exigent Government Relations, and Brianna Bergner, partner account manager at Equinix, welcomed Ransom Scott Bergner on Saturday. He joins big sisters Isabella and Samantha. Pic — Christopher Opfer, news team leader at Bloomberg Law, and Sarah Lepley, supervising producer at Etsy, recently welcomed Lucy “Lolo” Opfer. Pic — Rebecca Rybczyk, Louisiana press secretary for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Major Joe Riccardi, of the U.S. Marine Corps, welcomed Evelyn Rose Rybczyk Riccardi on Feb. 29. 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.
| | | | A message from ExxonMobil: Heavy industry accounts for nearly 30% of global carbon emissions. For these businesses, setting and achieving meaningful carbon-reduction goals can be complex. At ExxonMobil, we’ve been working on reducing our own carbon emissions. At our Baytown plant, one of the world’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical operations, we’re working to deploy hydrogen power and carbon capture to reduce emissions by up to 30%. Now, we’re taking solutions like these to others in heavy industry. Using our technologies, we can help these businesses create a plan to make similar reductions. And together, we can deliver a lower-emissions future. Let's deliver. | | | | | | | 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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