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Presented by Better Medicare Alliance: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day Jan 10, 2019 View in browser
By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Daniel Lippman, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

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BREAKING ... VP MIKE PENCE held a pen and pad on Capitol Hill to discuss the border and the shutdown.

-- ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY ... "The president believes he has an absolute right to declare a national emergency under his authority as president of the United States. ... The president's made no decision with regard to declaring a national emergency. ... The president is going to get this done one way or the other."

-- IS DACA ON THE TABLE? He said the president wants to wait to hear from the Supreme Court.

-- WHAT TRUMP WANTS: "He's looking to build a wall -- a steel barrier on the southern border." Pence reiterated the $5.7 billion request.

-- "NO WALL, NO DEAL," Pence said.

Good Thursday afternoon. TWO BITS OF OTHER NEWS ...

-- CNN'S SARA MURRAY and KATELYN POLANTZ: "Exclusive: Robert Mueller met with Trump's pollster": "Mueller's team met with pollster Tony Fabrizio in February 2018, an interview that has not been previously reported and takes on new significance after Manafort's attorneys revealed Tuesday that Mueller's team is still interested in how Manafort shared polling data with his Russian intelligence-linked colleague." CNN

-- TRUMP CANCELS ON DAVOS -- @realDonaldTrump: "Because of the Democrats intransigence on Border Security and the great importance of Safety for our Nation, I am respectfully cancelling my very important trip to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. My warmest regards and apologies to the @wef."

USA TODAY'S TOM VANDEN BROOK: "Pentagon preparing options to build border wall as Trump weighs emergency declaration"

LEDE OF THE DAY -- NBC'S DAREH GREGORIAN: "The country would face an economic hellscape if the government shutdown lasts 'months or even years,' as the president has suggested it might, experts tell NBC News." NBC

SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI at her weekly presser: "Not only was the president unpresidential yesterday -- surprise, surprise -- in his behavior, I think the meeting was a setup so that he could walk out."

-- ABOUT BORDER SECURITY ... "I want to correct the record: He has not told the truth when he said he asked me if in 30 days I would support border security, and I said 'no.' He knows -- the people in the room know -- that is not what happened. What he said was, 'In 30 days will you support a wall?' And I said 'no.'"

-- ON A DACA DEAL: "We haven't had that discussion. What we're talking about now is just the president's insistence on a wall. ... Comprehensive immigration reform is what this debate should be about."

NOTE ... PAGING JARED!: This seems like a sliver of openness from Pelosi on DACA.

-- PELOSI ON A POTENTIAL EMERGENCY DECLARATION: "I think he's going to have to answer to his own party on usurping that much power. ... I don't think he really wants a solution. I think he loves the distraction that this is from his other problems." Full presser

LIKE WE TOLD YOU ... CNN'S KAITLAN COLLINS (@kaitlancollins): "White House lawyers are prepping the legal justification for a national emergency declaration. This has included advising aides to ramp up 'crisis' talk. Lawyers suggest the more times they say it, the more often they can point to it in a legal defense filing, per @Kevinliptakcnn."

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP told reporters this morning that if he and Democrats can't reach a shutdown deal, his next move is declaring a national emergency -- he said, "I probably will do it. I would almost say definitely," per pooler Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade.

HOW THE PRESIDENT SEES THE WORLD: "We're negotiating and having tremendous success with China. And I find China, frankly, in many ways to be far more honorable than Cryin' Chuck and Nancy. ... China is actually much easier to deal with than the opposition party."

-- NBC'S KRISTEN WELKER (@kwelkernbc): "When I asked @POTUS if the buck stops with him he tells me: 'The buck stops with everyone.'"

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HOW MUCH LONGER WILL THE SHUTDOWN LAST? "Either we're going to win or make a compromise. I'm OK to making a compromise. Compromise is in my vocabulary, very strongly. So we're either going to have a win, make a compromise ... or I will declare a national emergency," Trump said.

SERIOUSLY, NOT LITERALLY ... CNN'S MANU RAJU (@mkraju): "Trump cleanup on campaign pitch of Mexico paying for the wall. 'Obviously I never said and never meant, they're going to write out a check. Mexico will pay for the wall indirectly.' He continues to say Mexico trade deal (which hasn't been approved by Congress) will pay for wall."

-- FACT CHECK ... POLITIFACT'S MIRIAM VALVERDE on July 26, 2016: "'It's an easy decision for Mexico: make a one-time payment of $5 (billion)-10 billion to ensure that $24 billion continues to flow into their country year after year,' Trump said on his campaign website." PolitiFact

TRUMP: "I didn't pound the table. I didn't raise my voice. That was a lie. ... I don't have temper tantrums. ... I very calmly walked out of the room. I didn't smash the table -- I should have, but I didn't smash the table."

-- ON THE OTHER HAND ... BLOOMBERG'S SHANNON PETTYPIECE and MARGARET TALEV: "Long before he entered the White House -- where the latest turn on his heel occurred -- Trump was known to have done the same thing when a deal wasn't going his way. He even walked out of a judge's chambers during divorce proceedings." Bloomberg

ABOUT THAT WALL ... "Test of steel prototype for border wall showed it could be sawed through," by NBC's Jacob Soboroff and Julia Ainsley: "A photo exclusively obtained by NBC News shows the results of the test after experts from the Marine Corps were instructed to attempt to destroy the barriers with common tools.

"The Trump administration directed the construction of eight steel and concrete prototype walls that were built in Otay Mesa, California, just across the border from Tijuana, Mexico. ... Steel bollard fencing has been used under previous administrations. However, testing by DHS in late 2017 showed all eight prototypes, including the steel slats, were vulnerable to breaching, according to an internal February 2018 U.S. Customs and Border Protection report." With a pic: NBC

-- TRUMP, speaking to reporters today, said: "That's a wall that was designed by previous administrations. There's nothing that can't be penetrated, but you fix it, but it's a very difficult thing to do. ... We have many walls under consideration, even concrete. ... The wall that we're doing is very, very hard to penetrate."

TED HESSON and RENUKA RAYASAM: "Border lawmakers spurn Trump's wall proposal": "POLITICO polled the offices of 17 Senate and House members who represent Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California about Trump's $5.7 billion border barrier request. Only two - Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) - said they supported it." POLITICO

IN OTHER NEWS ... "Trump denies knowledge of Manafort's correspondence with Russian associate," by Matthew Choi: POLITICO

THE IMPACT -- WAPO'S MIKE DEBONIS (@mikedebonis): "Newslet: @LeaderHoyer says planned House MLK week recess could be cancelled if shutdown persists: 'My view is we should not have a recess if the government is shut down.'"

-- WSJ'S SARAH CHANEY, JESSICA MENTON and JOSH ZUMBRUN: "Missing Government Data Make Job Tougher for Policy Makers, Traders": "Economic data produced by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis aren't being released during the government shutdown; nor are some key data from other economic agencies. That meant no report Monday on national factory orders or Tuesday on the state of the U.S. trade deficit.

"It could mean no report Friday on the federal budget deficit, and potentially next week on retail sales, business inventories and housing starts. It could mean no report at the end of the month on how fast the economy grew in the fourth quarter. The reports help Fed officials and traders form views about how consumer spending, the housing sector, international trade and the broader economy are performing. Without the reports, those views are thus less informed and can lead to policy mistakes or market volatility." WSJ

-- SAM MINTZ: "Air traffic controllers miss first paycheck"

-- WAPO'S JULIET EILPERIN and DINO GRANDONI: "Oil drillers, nature lovers get access to public lands despite shutdown": "The Trump administration's prioritization of energy exploration means the oil and gas business, one of the most heavily regulated industries in the United States, says it has yet to feel any real consequence from the shutdown." WaPo

HELENA BOTTEMILLER EVICH: "FDA looks to restart safety inspections for risky foods amid shutdown": "It's unlikely, however, that a large number of inspections for high-risk foods have been missed or delayed since the shutdown began shortly before the holidays. ... High-risk food facilities are typically not inspected very often, even when the government is fully funded." POLITICO

NYT'S TRIP GABRIEL: "Before Trump, Steve King Set the Agenda for the Wall and Anti-Immigrant Politics": "The Republican Party hadn't always intended to go this route: Officials tried for years to come up with broad-based immigration reform that would appeal to growing numbers of Latino voters. But Mr. Trump's preoccupation with the wall and anti-immigrant politics reflects how he has embraced the once-fringe views of Mr. King ...

"Mr. Trump's positions are a reminder of how Mr. King's ideology and his language maligning undocumented residents helped shape the Republican message in 2016 and 2018 and define Mr. Trump's agenda and prospects for re-election. Mr. King may have been ostracized by some Republicans over his racist remarks and extremist ties, but as much of the nation debates immigration, his views now carry substantial influence on the right. ...

"'White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization - how did that language become offensive?' Mr. King said. 'Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?'" NYT

-- IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE if the leadership disowns him, and if NRCC tosses him aside.

-- KING'S COLLEAGUES ARE OUT AGAINST HIM ... Michigan Rep. Paul Mitchell ... Michigan Rep. Justin Amash

ON THE BORDER -- "The 8-Year-Old Boy Who Died In Border Patrol Custody Was Healthy When He Left Mexico, Shelter Says," by BuzzFeed's John Stanton in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico: "President Donald Trump has sought to blame the child's death on his father, claiming in a tweet that Felipe was 'very sick before they were given over to Border Patrol.' But according to Blanca Alicia Rivera, who manages the Casa del Migrante shelter in Juarez, Gomez wasn't sick when he and his father decided to cross the border between checkpoints on Dec. 18." BuzzFeed

ON THE WORLD STAGE -- NAHAL TOOSI and CAITLIN OPRYSKO: "'American shame is over': Pompeo vows to quell Obama's Mideast chaos: "Overall, Pompeo's speech underscored how much the Trump administration's foreign policy is pinned on rebuking Obama, who, in turn, had sought to turn the page from the George W. Bush years. The Pompeo remarks also revealed how much Iran shapes Trump's foreign policy." POLITICO

GETTING RESULTS ... A.G. UPDATE -- MARIANNE LEVINE: "Barr to meet with more Dems after Klobuchar says she was denied visit"

-- REUTERS' SARAH LYNCH and ANDY SULLIVAN: "President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. attorney general is expected to tell a Senate panel next week that he supports a new law easing prison sentences for some criminals, even though he advocated for decades for just the opposite." Reuters

2020 WATCH -- "Here's Trump Allies' Plan To Meddle In The 2020 Democratic Primary," by BuzzFeed's Tarini Parti: "America First Policies and its affiliated super PAC have made significant investments in the opposition group America Rising, funding their efforts to dig into the top Democratic contenders - along with some second-tier candidates - and prep opposition research books on all of them, according to five sources involved or familiar with the plans.

"Those close to Trump say the work from America Rising will be used against Democrats in the primary to hammer candidates they think will be most challenging for Trump to beat, weakening the overall field and the eventual Democratic nominee." BuzzFeed

-- MAGGIE SEVERNS: "2020 contenders use shutdown fight to raise cash, talk to base"

-- JAMES ARKIN: "Presidential dreams pull Democrats away from key Senate races": "The pull of the presidential race could hurt Democrats' Senate chances in one or more states and force them to search further for potential candidates in other places - though it will also open up the Democratic Party to new blood. And it could open the door to late recruitment efforts of losing presidential candidates next year, as happened to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in 2016." POLITICO

TRADE WARS -- WSJ: "U.S.-China Trade Fight Shakes Global Economy, but Isn't All Bad for Bystanders"

WAR REPORT -- "The U.S. Spent $8 Billion on Afghanistan's Air Force. It's Still Struggling," by NYT's David Zucchino in Moghkhail, Afghanistan: "Eleven years after the United States began building an air force for Afghanistan at a cost now nearing $8 billion, it remains a frustrating work in progress, with no end in sight. Some aviation experts say the Afghans will rely on American maintenance and other support for years.

"Such dependence could complicate President Trump's moves to extricate the United States from the 17-year-old war against Taliban insurgents - a war in which they lately appear to be gaining ground." NYT

SPOTTED at a birthday party for Heather Podesta at Chloe last night: more than two dozen House members, including Reps. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Anthony Brindisi (D-N.Y.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Abby Finkenauer (D-Iowa), Will Hurd (R-Texas) and David Joyce (R-Ohio), and Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.).

TRANSITION -- Sara Fagen will be CEO of Deep Root Analytics. She previously was a partner at DDC Public Affairs.

ENGAGED -- Alex Pfeiffer, associate producer at Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" and a Daily Caller alum, proposed to Joely Friedman, a communications consultant for National Geographic Partners and an Israeli Embassy and Mark Kirk alum. Pic ... Another pic

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- HILLARY ALUMNI: Elizabeth Kanick, deputy COS for Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and an alum of Hillary Clinton's Senate office and State Department, and Michael Kanick, director of digital strategy at the CIAB and an alum of Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Clinton, on Tuesday welcomed David Francis Paul Kanick.

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