| | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | |  The bill to rein in TikTok, which was co-authored by Rep. Mike Gallagher's (R-Wis.), flew threw the House this morning. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | The crusade to rein in TikTok notched a major victory this morning as House lawmakers handed the platform a bipartisan rebuke: By a vote of 352-65, the House passed a bill that would force TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the app or face a ban from U.S. app stores. More from Rebecca Kern While the legislation’s supporters ranged from the likes of Speaker MIKE JOHNSON to former Speaker NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.), “the no camp proved almost as bipartisan,” our colleague Anthony Adragna notes in a breakdown of the vote count. “Progressives and a handful of conservatives united in opposition, joining former President DONALD TRUMP — even though his late-in-the-game criticism of the bill did not come with open lobbying against the measure, according to multiple lawmakers.” In all, 15 Republicans joined 50 Democrats to vote no. “Opponents of the bill ranged from frequent adversaries Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) and Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.) to House Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Rep. JIM HIMES (D-Conn.) and the ideologically chameleonic Rep. NANCY MACE (R-S.C.).” Next up: The bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have indicated concerns about the legislation. Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER has thus far declined to commit to a floor vote. President JOE BIDEN has signaled that he will sign the bill into law if it reaches his desk. FWIW, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair MARK WARNER (D-Va.) and Vice Chair MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.) endorsed the bill after this morning’s House vote. “We are united in our concern about the national security threat posed by TikTok,” the duo said in a statement, adding that they “look forward to working together to get this bill passed through the Senate and signed into law.” On the sidelines: Oracle, the tech giant which TikTok counts as its most powerful U.S corporate partner, is steering clear of the fracas. “TikTok’s lobbyists have complained to House aides that the Austin, Texas-based tech giant Oracle — a politically connected Washington powerhouse with 24 lobbying firms on payroll last year that forged deep ties to Donald Trump’s White House — has been almost entirely absent from the heated behind-the-scenes tussle over the bill,” Semafor’s Kadia Goba and Joseph Zeballos-Roig report. “The stakes are high for Oracle, which is one of the 30 most valuable companies in the world. The company’s role hosting TikTok’s U.S. data, and in theory guaranteeing its safety, was reportedly worth $1 billion.” ANOTHER GOOD DAY IN COURT FOR TRUMP — Fulton County Superior Court Judge SCOTT McAFEE this morning delivered Trump some good news in his Georgia case, throwing out six of the indictment’s 41 charges, ruling that the state had failed to make specific enough allegations to support them. “The ruling affects three of the 13 felony counts Trump faces in the case, though not the central charge of a racketeering conspiracy aimed at overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state,” our colleagues Kyle Cheney, Josh Gerstein and Betsy Woodruff Swan report. “Several of the dismissed counts do not involve Trump but instead apply to some of his most prominent co-defendants, including RUDY GIULIANI, JOHN EASTMAN and MARK MEADOWS.” The ruling is a major blow for DA FANI WILLIS, who filed the sprawling racketeering indictment in August and launched what has always been viewed as a risky gambit of wrapping Trump and the other 18 alleged co-conspirators together. McAfee in his ruling did say that prosecutors may refile the charges with greater detail or appeal his ruling. The kill shot: “The lack of detail concerning an essential legal element is … fatal,” McAfee wrote. Read the full ruling Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at gross@politico.com.
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Protect Conservation Funding. | | | | | 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  Donald Trump has reportedly been focused on finding a running mate who “isn’t too hard-line” on abortion. | Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO | 1. ABORTION ATTENTION: As Trump combs through potential running mates, one topic is reportedly top of his mind: Abortion — specifically, making sure that any potential VP “isn’t too hard-line on the issue,” NBC’s Dasha Burns reports. One recent night at Mar-a-Lago, Trump “began making the rounds polling his dinner guests about abortion and the veepstakes. In particular, he asked the diners — who included his campaign aides and club members — what they thought of the vocal anti-abortion-rights views of Sen. TIM SCOTT of South Carolina. Would they turn off voters? According to two sources close to Trump, including the person at the dinner, Trump has been laser-focused on the abortion issue, especially when it comes to his vice presidential pick. He sees it as the one major advantage for Democrats and a vulnerability for Republicans.” Another would-be running mate whose views on abortion rights have caused concern? South Dakota Gov. KRISTI NOEM. Related read: Republican Party brass are “pushing GOP colleagues to openly discuss their positions on abortion, rather than try to sidestep the issue like many did in the previous campaign,” WSJ’s Natalie Andrews reports. “A memo prepared by House Republicans’ campaign arm and viewed by The Wall Street Journal says Republicans have a ‘brand problem, not a policy problem,’ as their reluctance to discuss the issue left it to Democrats to define where the GOP stood. … The guidance tells candidates they must ‘confidently articulate’ their stance and that ‘being unwilling to stake out a clear position with voters is the worst possible solution.’” Democrats, for their part, welcome the opportunity to feature abortion politics on the campaign trail, arguing that they are better aligned with voters on the issue and pointing to recent electoral results as proof that Republicans are off base with their positions. 2. FIGHT OF THE HUNTER: Lawyers for HUNTER BIDEN offered a scathing retort to the House Oversight Committee this morning, telling the panel that Hunter will not attend a March 20 public hearing, our colleague Jordain Carney reports. ABBE LOWELL, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, said in the letter to Oversight Chair JAMES COMER (R-Ky.) that his client had a “scheduling conflict” because he had to be in California for a court hearing the day after the hearing. But, Lowell added, that is the “least of the issues,” according to a copy of the letter obtained by POLITICO. “Your blatant planned-for-media event is not a proper proceeding but an obvious attempt to throw a Hail Mary pass after the game has ended,” he wrote. Read the full letter 3. NO SPECIAL TREATMENT: Rep. LAUREN BOEBERT (R-Colo.) said this morning that she’s not interested in jumping into the June special election to replace retiring Rep. KEN BUCK (R-Colo.), Madison Fernandez writes. “Boebert, who currently represents Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District and is campaigning for Buck’s seat in the 4th District, said on Wednesday in a Rumble livestream that she will ‘not further imperil the already very slim House Republican majority’ by vacating her seat to run for the special election. ‘Put in your Ukraine-first candidate,’ she said. ‘I don’t really care. It’s going to be a placeholder for six months, but at least there will be someone to help us keep our majority.’”
| | | | 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 IT’S PLAYING: “Pro-Israel Lobby Faces Challenges Amid Gaza War and Shifting Politics,” by NYT’s Kate Kelly and Kenneth Vogel: “AIPAC’s aggressiveness and the challenges it faces were evident this week when the group — formally the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — brought together roughly 1,600 donors and senior lawmakers from both parties, including Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic majority leader, to rally support and show its muscle. [Israeli PM BENJAMIN] NETANYAHU spoke to the group by video link on Tuesday. “A separate video montage that played for donors at the conference featured Democratic members of Congress criticizing Israel or expressing support for the Palestinians. Officials at AIPAC, which is led by HOWARD KOHR, its chief executive, pressed donors to finance the group’s efforts to defeat some of the members.” 5. DEPT. OF SABER-RATTLING: Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN this morning warned that his country is “ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty or independence is threatened, issuing another blunt warning to the West just days before an election in which he’s all but certain to secure another six-year term,” per the AP. 6. MISSILE HOMING: “To Build More Missiles, the U.S. Looks to an Ally 10,000 Miles Away,” by WSJ’s Mike Cherney: “In Australia, the effort to transform Building 215, most of which was empty on a recent visit, offers a look at how Washington’s weapons strategy might unfold around the world — and the difficulties the U.S. and its allies face in ramping up munitions production. Lockheed and Australia will need to build new supply chains, train new workers and facilitate technology sharing with the U.S. Some say the plan is already moving too slowly, pointing out that it has been about four years since Australia floated the idea of making missiles.”
| | | | Easily connect with the right N.Y. State influencers and foster the right relationships to champion your policy priorities. POLITICO Pro. Inside New York. Learn more. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Ted Cruz and Katie Britt compared notes about their respective SNL parodies. Eric Hovde took a bold stance on alcohol sales in Wisconsin back in 2017. John Fetterman finds TikTok both a nuisance and a national security threat. Don Lemon said that his partnership with X was canceled shortly after he interviewed Elon Musk for his show. (Among the question topics? Musk’s reported use of ketamine.) OUT AND ABOUT — Kate Lehrer hosted a book party at her home yesterday evening celebrating the publication of Beth Solomon’s book, “Georgetown Dish,” ($16.99) with co-hosts Didi Cutler and Colleen Nunn. SPOTTED: Lynda and Chuck Robb, Bob and Pat Schieffer, Ann Crittenden, Margaret Warner, Francesca Craig, Gloria Dittus, Sam Nunn, Judy Woodruff, Diane Rehm, Icelandic Ambassador Bergdís Ellertsdóttir, Molly Raiser, Susan Shreve, Andrea Mitchell, Judy Kurtz and Ann and Lloyd Hand. Pic MEDIA MOVE — Amie Parnes is returning to The Hill as a senior correspondent. She previously was chief White House correspondent at The Messenger and is a POLITICO alum. The announcement 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.
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