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Presented by the American Beverage Association: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day in Washington Feb 22, 2019 View in browser
By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman and Daniel Lippman

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DRIVING THE DAY
THE ELECTION BOARD in North Carolina has ordered a new election in the 9th District, where Republican Mark Harris ran against Democrat Dan McCready in November. Raleigh News and Observer's Brian Murphy, Jim Morrill and Ely Portillo

-- LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: "It remains unclear if Harris will run again. On top of health concerns, local GOP strategists said the fraud allegations surrounding his campaign may make it harder for Harris for raise money.

"A number of other Republicans are eyeing the seat, including Matthew Ridenhour, an ex-Marine who recently served as a Mecklenburg County commissioner, and Kenny Smith, a former Charlotte city council member who ran and lost for the mayor of Charlotte." POLITICO

OUR QUESTION: THIS IS AN R+8 seat. How much money will the two parties spend to win a seat that has absolutely no bearing on the control of power in Washington? Will outside groups get involved? Once one gets in, they all do, and this could become a multimillion-dollar endeavor.

PAGING THE NRCC ... DES MOINES REGISTER: "Steve King: 'I have nothing to apologize for,' plans to run for re-election," by Tony Leys: "A defiant Rep. Steve King confirmed Thursday that he will run for a 10th term as an Iowa congressman, despite controversies over his history of caustic remarks, including about race and immigration.

"The Kiron Republican has been criticized by national and state leaders of his own party, has been stripped of committee assignments in Congress and has drawn three primary challengers for the 2020 race.

"In a Thursday taping of Iowa Public Television's 'Iowa Press' program, host David Yepsen asked him: 'Are you sorry for anything that you've said?' The congressman replied: 'I have nothing to apologize for, Dave.'

"King confirmed that he will run for re-election in 2020, despite drawing three challengers for the Republican nomination. He offered a message to voters in his northwest Iowa district: 'Don't let the elitists in this country, the power brokers in this country, tell you who's going to represent you in the United States Congress.'" Des Moines Register ... 1:51 video

WITH THE GOVERNORS COMING TO TOWN ... ALEX ISENSTADT: "Hogan rips RNC for shielding Trump from primary challenge": "Republican Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday he expects to make a springtime trip to New Hampshire as he weighs a 2020 challenge to Donald Trump - and accused the [RNC] of going to extraordinary lengths to shield the president from a potentially draining primary.

"'Typically they try to be fair arbiters of a process and I've never seen anything like it and I've been involved in the Republican Party for most of my life. It's unprecedented. And in my opinion it's not the way we should be going about our politics,' Hogan, a popular two-term Maryland governor, said in an interview with POLITICO. 'It's very undemocratic and to say, "We're in some cases not going to allow a debate, we may not have a primary..."

"'And the question is, what are they afraid of?' he added. 'Because on the one hand you look at polls, 70 percent of Republicans support the president in a primary. Why are they so concerned? Why the puffing out the chest - 'We've put together the greatest team ever assembled, we're going to raise all this money early, we're going to hire all these people early, we're going to take over the RNC...'" POLITICO

-- POLITICO is hosting its ninth annual STATE SOLUTIONS CONFERENCE on the sidelines of the National Governors Association winter meeting this morning. Check out the livestream starting at 8:30 a.m. to see our colleagues interview Govs. Kate Brown (D-Ore.), Chris Sununu (R-N.H.), Matt Bevin (R-Ky.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Ned Lamont (D-Conn.), among others. Livestream

Good Friday morning.

SEATTLE TIMES: "Howard Schultz didn't vote on latest Seattle school levies," by Jim Brunner: "Even after facing public criticism over his spotty voting record, Howard Schultz failed to vote in this month's Seattle school-levy election.

"King County Elections records show a postage-paid ballot for the Feb. 12 special election was mailed to the billionaire former Starbucks CEO and potential presidential candidate on Jan. 23, but never returned.

"The no-show was in line with Schultz's pattern of ignoring many elections over the decades, even while urging increased civic and political involvement by Americans." Seattle Times

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America's beverage companies are working together to bring you more ways to help reduce calories from sugar. Coke, Dr Pepper and Pepsi are offering more great tasting choices than ever before with less sugar or no sugar at all, smaller portion sizes, clear calorie labels and reminders to Think Balance. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c47e105df0fdce9c6b8c3ef61aab7c40662249bc84ad6c98d70aed65c563ba838b5e38c4cd3206b7fbebf26ccfb939e4

TALKER ... ELIANA JOHNSON: "The North Korea summit nobody wanted: President Trump is excited to meet Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. Others fear he'll give too much away": "Many, including several of the president's top advisers, are less excited. Some have expressed trepidation not only that the summit, scheduled to take place next week in Hanoi, may not yield big results. They worry, too, that Trump, eager to declare victory on the world stage, could make big concessions in exchange for empty promises of denuclearization. ...

"Inside the administration, concern about the upcoming summit has come from predictable skeptics, including national security adviser John Bolton, a longtime opponent of diplomacy with North Korea, but also from unexpected corners. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the man charged with leading the negotiations, has expressed frustration to allies about the lack of diplomatic progress and voiced concern that his boss will get outmaneuvered, according to a source with direct knowledge of the conversations." POLITICO

FOR KEVIN MCCARTHY ... L.A. TIMES: "California GOP's next leader needs to raise money - fast," by Christine Mai-Duc: "There's at least one thing California Republicans can still agree on: To recover from brutal midterm election losses, they need to raise a lot more money.

"But when delegates vote to elect the party's next chair this weekend, they'll weigh pitches from two front-running candidates with very different views about just how to put Republicans on the offensive again in a blue state that's a reliable cash machine for Democrats.

"Jessica Patterson, chief executive of California Trailblazers, a group that trains Republican legislative candidates, has said her long-standing rapport with top-dollar donors will help move the party forward.

"But Travis Allen, the hard-charging former gubernatorial candidate running against her, has decried 'special-interest billionaires' who fund the party and says he wants to instead fill its coffers with an unprecedented grass-roots fundraising effort that would ask thousands of 'ordinary California Republicans' to make small monthly contributions." LAT

THE LATEST DRAMA ON THE 2020 DNC CONVENTION ... MARC CAPUTO: "Florida Dems knock Wisconsin governor's convention 'hissy fit'"

-- 2020 WATCH: HOLLY OTTERBEIN and NATASHA KORECKI: "Sanders has early lead over Warren in battle of the far-left": "The Bernie Sanders vs. Elizabeth Warren primary is on. The run-up to their presidential announcements sparked concern on the left that having both of them in the race would split the activist base and clear the way for a more moderate nominee. Now that they're both in, the competition between the two promises to be one of the more intriguing subplots of the primary.

"Sanders starts out indisputably ahead. Bolstered by the grassroots army he amassed in 2016, the Vermont senator easily outraised Warren in the first 24 hours of their campaigns. He's far ahead of her in the polls, too, trailing only former Vice President Joe Biden, who hasn't announced whether he'll run." POLITICO

GABBY ORR: "Pence takes Trumpism abroad": "Vice President Mike Pence has slowly become of the president's most visible overseas surrogates - sent to deliver Trump's 'America First' demands.

"On Monday, Pence will make his third speech on foreign soil in the last two weeks when he travels to Bogota, Colombia, to call on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to step aside, a high-profile address that will come as the world watches to see whether Maduro relents on a blockade that has kept humanitarian aid packages from Venezuelans facing food and medicine shortages.

"The request will come just days after Pence took a swing through Europe, where he broadsided allies with an unexpected demand that they pull out of the Iranian nuclear deal, while chiding them for continuing to do business with the country. Pence pointedly reiterated the dictates in a second speech, even after being issued a flat denial the first time around.

"On the foreign stage, White House officials say Pence has sometimes settled into a role as the administration's bad cop, while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is the diplomat who sticks around to hash out particulars and the president is the showman who swoops in from time to time. And it's a role Pence will likely continue to play in the next few months, as Trump's schedule becomes increasingly campaign-focused." POLITICO

ANDREW RESTUCCIA: "Trump stays silent on media-hating Coast Guard officer": "[M]ore than 24 hours after news broke that a Coast Guard officer - an avowed white nationalist - was allegedly plotting to kill Democratic politicians and journalists, Trump has, at least so far, not said a word. Asked for comment, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, 'The president and the entire administration have condemned violence in all forms as we have stated many times.' Sanders did not respond to questions about whether Trump planned to tone down his rhetoric." POLITICO

TRUMP'S IMMIGRATION POLICY -- "Trump administration begins effort to strip work permits for immigrant spouses," by San Francisco Chronicle's Tal Kopan: "After nearly two years of delays, the Trump administration is moving ahead with its plan to stop granting work permits to the spouses of many high-skilled visa holders, an effort that could jeopardize tens of thousands of immigrant families in California alone.

"Rolling back the permits could have sweeping consequences for the Bay Area, where tech companies heavily rely on high-skilled immigrants. Many of those workers come to the U.S. with spouses and children, and the loss of the spousal work permits could imperil families' ability to stay in the country or deter workers from accepting jobs here to begin with." San Francisco Chronicle

THE INVESTIGATIONS ... DARREN SAMUELSOHN, JOSH GERSTEIN and MATTHEW CHOI: "Judge broadens gag order against Roger Stone after Instagram post": "'No, Mr. Stone, I'm not giving you another chance. I have serious doubts about whether you've learned any lesson at all,' U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said near the end of a surreal 90-minute hearing, which was called in the wake of Stone's Instagram post on Monday that featured an image of the judge with what looked like gunsight crosshairs in the corner.

"Under Jackson's new order, Stone can't make any public comments of any kind about the charges he's facing from the special counsel, which include lying to Congress and witness tampering. He's also banned from social media posts or speaking through surrogates about his case." POLITICO

-- NYT'S SHARON LAFRANIERE: "[Stone] said he was suffering from extreme emotional and financial stress. His savings were exhausted, he said, and his business as a public commentator and consultant, which once earned him $47,000 a month, had dwindled badly. 'I am having trouble putting food on the table and paying the rent,' he said." NYT

-- "IRS agent admits giving Michael Cohen's financial records to Stormy Daniels' lawyer," by NBC's Andrew Blankstein, Tom Winter and Sarah Fitzpatrick: "Federal prosecutors say an IRS investigator in California has admitted leaking confidential details of financial transactions by former Trump attorney Michael Cohen to Michael Avenatti, lawyer for Stormy Daniels.

"John C. Fry has been charged in federal court with searching for and disseminating Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), reports filed by banks when they note potentially suspicious transactions. Federal officials say they found telephone records that indicate Fry placed a phone call from his personal cell phone to that of Stormy Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti the day before Avenatti released details of Cohen's financial transactions, and the day after." NBC

GARRETT GRAFF in WIRED, "7 Scenarios for How the Mueller Probe Might 'Wrap Up'"

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TRUMP'S FRIDAY -- The president will meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at 2:30 p.m. in the Oval Office. He will leave the White House at 7:10 p.m. en route to the Republican Governors Association event at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, where he will give a speech, before returning to the White House.

SUNDAY SO FAR ...


FOX

"FOX News Sunday": Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ... Tom Perez. Panel: Karl Rove, Julie Pace, Josh Holmes and Juan Williams

CNN

"State of the Union": Mike Pompeo ... Panel: Mike Rogers, David Urban, Jen Psaki and Symone Sanders

CBS

"Face the Nation": Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) ... Washington Gov. Jay Inslee ... Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.). Panel: Ben Domenech, Susan Page, Jamal Simmons and Edward Wong

CNN

"Inside Politics": Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). Panel: Jonathan Martin, Maeve Reston and Jeff Zeleny (live from Des Moines)

NBC

"Meet the Press": Panel: Al Cardenas, Lanhee Chen, Heather McGhee and Andrea Mitchell
PLAYBOOK READS


PHOTO DU JOUR: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has lunch with Rev. Al Sharpton as photographers take pictures through a window in the Harlem neighborhood of New York, on Thursday, Feb. 21. | Bebeto Matthews/AP Photo, via pool

ON THE WORLD STAGE -- "U.S. to leave 200 American peacekeepers in Syria after pullout," by Reuters' Steve Holland and Idrees Ali

FOR YOUR RADAR -- "Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules," by Miami Herald's Julie Brown: "Federal prosecutors, under former Miami U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, broke the law when they concealed a plea agreement from more than 30 underage victims who had been sexually abused by wealthy New York hedge fund manager Jeffrey Epstein, a federal judge ruled Thursday. While the decision marks a victory for crime victims, the federal judge, Kenneth A. Marra, stopped short of overturning Epstein's plea deal, or issuing an order resolving the case.

"He instead gave federal prosecutors 15 days to confer with Epstein's victims and their attorneys to come up with a settlement. ... It's not clear whether the victims, now in their late 20s and early 30s, can, as part of the settlement, demand that the government prosecute Epstein. But others are calling on the Justice Department to take a new look at the case in the wake of the judge's ruling." Miami Herald

K STREET FILES -- "Russian-backed U.S. energy company hires lobbying firm with connections to Trump to help with China deal," by CNBC's Brian Schwartz: "A lobbying firm run by former advisors to President Donald Trump is representing American Ethane Company, an energy producer funded by Russian billionaires that is involved with a Chinese aluminum company.

"Turnberry Solutions, a lobbying group run by former Trump campaign advisor Jason Osborne, has signed American Ethane as a client, according to a new lobbying disclosure form." CNBC

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America's beverage companies are working together to bring you more ways to help reduce calories from sugar. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c47e105df0fdce9c3ad89e4b4c1e30c34c9a616d2d7a7cc45b17500b60ec24c6d1471f68aac000f24f45b73126c74922

BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- "Tennessee gov. says he regrets wearing Confederate uniform," by AP's Jonathan Mattise and Scott Stroud in Nashville, Tenn.: "Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee was 17 when he joined the Kappa Alpha fraternity at Auburn University, which every spring held an 'Old South' party where he and other members dressed in Confederate uniforms.

"The fraternity has since ended the tradition, and Lee, four decades removed from his undergraduate days at the Alabama university, says he regrets attending and wearing the uniform, and has come to see his participation in the event differently. A spokeswoman for Lee confirmed on Thursday that Auburn's 1980 yearbook includes a photo of the governor and another man in Confederate uniforms." AP

MEDIAWATCH -- "'James Bennett Will Recuse Himself': If Senator Michael Bennet runs for president, his brother, the New York Times opinion editor, will stand down," by Vanity Fair's Joe Pompeo

-- "Every 2020 Candidate But Trump Promises: No Stolen Data," by The Daily Beast's Sam Stein, Jackie Kucinich and Scott Bixby: "Nearly three years after hacked materials upended the 2016 presidential campaign, every Democratic candidate running for the White House has pledged not to knowingly use such material should they end up being published during the current election cycle.

"Only one 2020 campaign declined to make such a commitment: President Donald Trump's. The Daily Beast asked each presidential campaign either up-and-running or in its exploratory phase whether they would commit to not knowingly using or referencing hacked material that appears online on grounds that it may have been obtained illegally." The Daily Beast
PLAYBOOKERS
TRANSITION -- Ronald Newman has been named the ACLU's acting national political director in its national political advocacy department.

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Evelyn Stauffer, comms director at HHS' ACF, who celebrated with friends and family last night at RPM Italian (hat tips: Nate Bult and Matt Lloyd) ... Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill turned 58 (h/t DiAnne Graham) ... David Wessel turned 65

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Ed Brookover, partner at Avenue Strategies. A fun fact about Ed: "Every Saturday morning I have a standing date with my two young granddaughters. We go to parks, shopping malls, libraries, always end with lunch together. Then we all head home to take a nap!" Playbook Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Hugh Hewitt is 63 (h/t son James) ... Peter Siegal of Norton Rose Fulbright ... Rodney Hood of JPMorgan Chase (h/t Peter Cherukuri) ... Peter Hanna ... David Axelrod is 64 ... Alex Slater, founder and chief strategy officer of Clyde Group, is 41 (h/ts Steve Elmendorf, Geoff Vetter and Shane Harris) ... Alyssa Mastromonaco, senior adviser and spokesperson for NARAL ... former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) is 67 ... Bob Bauer, a partner at Perkins Coie ... Jennifer Poersch ... POLITICO's Heidi Sommer ... Jay Driscoll ... Desiree Luckey ... Chris Behm ... Kristen Soltis Anderson ... Lindsey Rosenthal ... Tesla's Tim Newell ... Martha Boudreau ... Andy Burness (h/ts Jon
Haber) ... Chris Crawford ... NatGeo alum Dan Gilgoff is 4-0 ... Ellis Brachman is 41 ... Alan Katz ... Randy Levine is 64 ... Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) is 47 ... Shawn Martin ... Jon Markman is 61 ...

... Rachel Whetstone, chief comms officer at Netflix (h/t Tammy Haddad) ... Viet Dinh, chief legal and policy officer for the new Fox, is 51 (h/t Tim Burger) ... MJ Carrabba ... NBC News' Keir Simmons ... former Rep. John Bryant (D-Texas) is 72. He's celebrating with his wife Janet in Dallas (h/t Randy White) ... Becky Beland McNaught, COS to Jennifer Siebel Newsom ... Andrew Nixon ... MSNBC's Dan Holway ... Liz Glover ... Ryan Eaton of Quicken Loans (h/t Nick Owens) ... CNN's Laurie Ure ... Aaron Flint ... Elizabeth Oblinger, manager of government relations at Bay ... Meghan Barstow ... Kaveh Chini ... Abbie Buckman (h/t Edith Gregson) ... Kimberly Marteau Emerson ... Marissa Lang ... AP's
Michael Biesecker and Dorothy Abernathy ... Wendy Gordon ... Angelique Pirozzi ... Lauren Orndorff ... Yvesner Zamar ... Ned Michalek ... Ellen Gosnell ... Dave LesStrang ... David Pomerantz ... Margaret Anne Moore

A message from the American Beverage Association:

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With more choices, smaller portions and less sugar, America's families can find the balance that's right for them. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c47e105df0fdce9cc8dbb66ae376b1658ebd735e550b6607082fbbd3b96edbab0dc27c64344ba378f975a8fab21fdede

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