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Presented by U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day Feb 04, 2019 View in browser
By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman and Daniel Lippman

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DRIVING THE DAY
BOSTON GLOBE FRONT PAGE: "DYNASTY ROLLS ON" ... Front page of the Globe's sports section: "SCORE: PATRIOTS 13 RAMS 3"

AMAZING NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE FRONT PAGE ... Blank page with the headline: "Super Bowl? What Super Bowl?" The front page

AXIOS' ALEXI MCCAMMOND and JONATHAN SWAN: "Scoop: Insider leaks Trump's 'Executive Time'-filled private schedules": "A White House source has leaked nearly every day of President Trump's private schedule for the past three months. ... This unusually voluminous leak gives us unprecedented visibility into how this president spends his days. The schedules, which cover nearly every working day since the midterms, show that Trump has spent around 60% of his scheduled time over the past 3 months in unstructured 'Executive Time.'

"We've published every page of the leaked schedules in a piece that accompanies this item. To protect our source, we retyped the schedules in the same format that West Wing staff receives them. What the schedules show: Trump, an early riser, usually spends the first 5 hours of the day in Executive Time. Each day's schedule places Trump in 'Location: Oval Office' from 8 to 11 a.m. But Trump, who often wakes before 6 a.m., is never in the Oval during those hours, according to six sources with direct knowledge." Axios ... The schedules

-- TAKE A SECOND TO THINK ABOUT THIS: Someone who works for PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP has leaked his personal schedule in what can only be seen as an attempt to embarrass him. This is incredibly rare, and quite the commentary about the president's staff. It's also a great scoop.

-- MADELEINE WESTERHOUT (@madwest45), special assistant to the president and director of Oval Office operations: "What a disgraceful breach of trust to leak schedules. What these don't show are the hundreds of calls and meetings @realDonaldTrump takes everyday. This POTUS is working harder for the American people than anyone in recent history."

TRUMP'S MONDAY ... THE PRESIDENT will have lunch with VP Mike Pence at 12:45 p.m. in his private dining room.

Good Monday morning. A GROUP OF HOUSE MEMBERS on the border security conference committee are touring the border. Reps. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), Kay Granger (R-Texas), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.) are on the trip.

11 DAYS until the government shuts down. The State of the Union is tomorrow. Quint Forgey has all the SOTU details

SOTU PREVIEW ... DAN DIAMOND: "Trump's State of the Union pledge: Ending HIV transmissions by 2030"

-- ANITA KUMAR: "Will Trump the disrupter play nice at the State of the Union again?"

-- AP'S JONATHAN LEMIRE: "Analysis: Trump's State of Union comes amid political peril": "Trump hopes to use his Tuesday speech to reset his agenda and begin to gear up for his 2020 re-election campaign. But even as the president promises a theme of unity, his performance is likely to draw cheers from one side of the deeply divided Congress and stony silence from the other." AP

-- NYT'S LINDA QIU: "Before Trump's State of the Union, a Look at How Last Year's Promises Fared"

MAN, WISH WE WOULD'VE THOUGHT OF THAT! ... NYT, today: "2020 Democrats Agree: They're Very, Very Sorry" ... POLITICO, Chris Cadelago, Jan. 18: "The 'I'm sorry' 2020 Democratic primary"

A message from U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

Every week the tariffs on Canada and Mexico remain in place, approximately $500 million of America's imports and exports are hit with tariffs, raising costs for American families, hurting U.S. manufacturers, and putting American jobs at risk. We must remove the steel and aluminum tariffs. Learn more.

UPDATE ON JARED'S PEACE PROCESS ... WAPO'S RUTH EGLASH in Jerusalem: "Palestinians refuse to meet with Trump's adviser, so he's tweeting them": "It's been more than a year since senior Palestinian officials have agreed to meet or even speak with representatives of the Trump administration, but now President Trump's special representative for international negotiations, Jason Greenblatt, appears to have adopted a new diplomatic channel: Twitter.

"During the past few weeks, Greenblatt has been tweeting his thoughts, requests and criticisms to those Palestinian leaders who are active on the popular social media platform. This weekend, he seemed to confirm his new brand of tweet-diplomacy, writing: 'And who says the U.S. and the P.A. aren't talking? The only difference now is that we are speaking about these matters in public via twitter so the public can understand everyone's positions. Transparency is better for all.'" WaPo

THE PRESIDENT is being featured in advertisements for Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party in Israel.

-- TIMES OF ISRAEL'S RAPHAEL AHERN (@raphaelahern): "I asked the US Embassy in Jerusalem @usembassyjlm how they feel about @POTUS being turned into a political prop for @netanyahu's election campaign. An Embassy spokesperson replied: 'We are not involved in @Likud_Party's campaign messages or strategy.'" The billboard with Trump, with the slogan: "Netanyahu: Another league"

NEW POLL ... WHAT AOC MIGHT LIKE TO READ ... "Soak the rich? Americans say go for it," by Ben White: "Surveys are showing overwhelming support for raising taxes on top earners, including a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released Monday that found 76 percent of registered voters believe the wealthiest Americans should pay more in taxes. A recent Fox News survey showed that 70 percent of Americans favor raising taxes on those earning over $10 million - including 54 percent of Republicans." POLITICO

NORTHAM UPDATE ...

-- WAPO'S GREGORY SCHNEIDER, LAURA VOZZELLA and JENNA PORTNOY: "Northam meets with senior staff and considers options, including resignation": "Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) called an unscheduled senior staff meeting Sunday night just before the start of the Super Bowl, as the governor considered resigning after two days of defiance amid a controversy over a racist photo in his medical school yearbook. People familiar with the meeting said the governor had not reached a decision. It was unclear who was present, but the group included senior staffers of color. Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D), who would become governor if Northam resigned, was not there, the people said.

"Calling the Sunday night meeting was a clear signal of Northam's effort to weigh support within the administration as he evaluates his options. Although he pledged on Saturday to stand his ground, he also said he would reconsider if he thought he could no longer be effective. Just a day later, resignation is an active consideration, the people said.

"The meeting was emotional, according to a Democratic official. Northam scheduled a larger meeting for Monday morning for administration staff, the official said. Before the meeting, Northam spent much of the day in seclusion at his family home on the Eastern Shore as confidants delivered conflicting advice about whether he should resign or continue fighting to clear his name, according to people close to the governor." WaPo

-- WAPO'S LAURA MECKLER: "Anger and sadness as African Americans in Virginia consider Northam's fate": "If Northam resigns, it would mark a new and unexpected twist in Virginia's long and troubled history with race. Northam would be replaced by Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, an African American Democrat who is the great-great-great-grandson of a slave, and who held a copy of the paper that in 1798 freed his ancestor, tucked into his coat pocket, on the day he was inaugurated." WaPo

-- WSJ'S KEACH HAGEY: "Site Behind Northam Revelations Is Backed by GOP Operatives": "The website that broke the story of the racist yearbook photo that is imperiling the governorship of Virginia Democrat Ralph Northam is a scrappy, pro-Trump outfit backed by Republican operatives, part of a growing wave of low-cost, ideologically driven news publishers. On Friday, Big League Politics was the first to post the image of Gov. Northam's medical school yearbook page showing a photo of a man in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan costume. ...

"The site-whose name is a nod to President Trump's favorite campaign trail adverb, often misinterpreted as 'bigly'-was founded in early 2017 by journalist Patrick Howley, a veteran of conservative news sites including Breitbart and the Daily Caller. Soon after its founding, a majority share in the site was bought by Mustard Seed Media, a North Carolina-based company whose owners include political consultants Reilly O'Neal and Noel Fritsch." WSJ

A message from U.S. Chamber of Commerce:


Tariffs imposed on Canada and Mexico are nothing more than a tax increase on American consumers and businesses. Learn more.

TOM COTTON'S NEW BOOK, via Burgess Everett: "Tom Cotton will release a new book on May 14 chronicling the history of Arlington National Cemetery's Old Guard as well as his own time in the unit, according to his publisher.

"The Arkansas senator spent more than a year from during 2007 and 2008 leading the Old Guard unit that oversees and performs funerals for fallen soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery between his own tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He also spent the past year observing and reporting on the unity's present day soldiers, which William Morrow, part of HarperCollins, says forms the 'spine of the book.'

"Cotton was the platoon leader at Arlington National Cemetery during the Iraq surge for 16 months.

"The apolitical 'Sacred Duty: A Soldier's Tour at Arlington National Cemetery' will showcase Cotton's service in the military, rather than the hard-edged conservatism that many Republicans believe the first-term Arkansan will eventually try to use to run for president. One of the youngest senators and close to President Donald Trump, the hawkish Republican is still subject to regular buzz about serving in the Cabinet or eventually running for the president. He's also up for reelection next year, though his seat is safe in red Arkansas."

THE JUICE ...

-- ABC'S "WORLD NEWS TONIGHT" ANCHOR DAVID MUIR spent the weekend in Afghanistan, where he interviewed Gen. Scott Miller, the four-star general who is in charge of the war. This will run tonight. Muir often takes international reporting trips on weekends -- he has been to Somaliland, Jordan, Gitmo and Beirut. Pic of Muir and Miller
PLAYBOOK READS


PHOTO DU JOUR: Tom Brady is interviewed after the New England Patriots' Super Bowl LIII victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Atlanta on Sunday. | Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

AT THE PENTAGON -- "After Mattis, Acting Defense Chief Shanahan Is Trying Out for Permanent Role," by WSJ's Gordon Lubold and Michael Bender: "Mr. Trump in private conversations has voiced satisfaction with the arrangement [of having several acting secretaries], saying interim leaders are more beholden to the Oval Office, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

"At first, Mr. Shanahan didn't endear himself to the White House. He failed to fully consult the White House before naming an acting deputy secretary of defense, repeating a similar mistake when, as deputy secretary last year, he fired the Pentagon's chief management officer without first asking the White House, officials said." WSJ

CHRISTIE'S MONTH IN THE SPOTLIGHT ... WSJ'S PETER NICHOLAS: "Christie Says He Warned Trump About Tweets": "Chris Christie, a friend and confidant of President Trump, gave him a no-nonsense piece of advice early in his White House term: Don't tweet about the Russia investigation. Doing so would only prolong a high-stakes probe that Mr. Trump believes is both unfair and an unwanted drag on his presidency because prosecutors would scrutinize each tweet, Mr. Christie warned. Mr. Trump would hear him out and they would argue about it from time to time, Mr. Christie said in an interview, but in the end the president didn't listen.

"'He knows full well I think it's a bad idea,' said Mr. Christie, a former New Jersey governor and federal prosecutor. 'I told him back in February of 2017 there is no way to make this investigation shorter, but there are lots of ways to make it longer..... Every time he said something new or different, the prosecutors have to chase it down. It makes the investigation go on longer.' 'It's obvious from what's gone on for almost the last two years now that he's not followed the advice,' he added." WSJ

A message from U.S. Chamber of Commerce:


Every day tariffs continue, U.S. businesses pay the price. Learn more.

MEDIAWATCH -- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- AP'S JULIE PACE will send a hiring memo this AM: "As the 2020 campaign kicks off, we're expanding our team of journalists covering the election across the country. I'm happy to announce that Alexandra Jaffe is joining the AP as a political reporter based in Iowa and Hunter Woodall is our new political reporter based in New Hampshire. Both will report to AP's political editor, Steven Sloan.

"Alexandra comes to AP from Vice News Tonight, the nightly news show on HBO, where she was a political correspondent covering national and state politics and policy. ... Hunter joins AP from The Kansas City Star, where he's covered state government and politics in Kansas and Missouri."
PLAYBOOKERS
SPOTTED: Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Susan Blumenthal on Sunday afternoon at Bethesda Row Cinema watching "Vice" ... Justice Sonia Sotomayor at a performance on Saturday night of "To Kill A Mockingbird," the Aaron Sorkin play on Broadway. Per a tipster: "The visibly moved Justice congratulated the cast backstage afterwards and took delight in meeting the veteran actor, Dakin Matthews, who plays the judge in Harper Lee's courtroom classic. The Justice leaned over to him and said, 'You're a great judge!' The actor responded, 'You're a pretty good judge, too.'"

TRANSITIONS -- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Ray Hernandez, a former longtime NYT reporter who most recently worked at DCI Group, and Yochi Dreazen, former deputy managing editor at Vox and a WSJ veteran, are joining Marathon Strategies. Hernandez will be managing director for research and investigations, and Dreazen will be VP for strategic content.

-- Julia Ager, chief digital officer at the DCCC during the 2018 midterms, is launching Sapphire Strategies.

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Amal Clooney turned 41 ... (was Saturday): Heather Smith, comms director for Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) (hat tip Scott Bennett)

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Jim Nicholson, former VA secretary who is now senior counsel with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and on the Board of Visitors at West Point, is 81. A fun fact about Jim: "People in D.C. probably don't know about my love of horses. It was an honor to be named 'Colt of the Year' by the Roundup Riders of the Rockies -- top rookie cowboy of 150 top horsemen in the Rocky Mountain West. I also played polo and won a major tournament in Wyoming." Playbook Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Nicolle Wallace (h/t Ben Chang) ... John Czwartacki ... Hunter Biden is 49 ... Matt McDonald, partner at Hamilton Place Strategies, is 41 (h/t Kevin Madden) ... Facebook is 15 ... Dan Quayle is 72 ... Albert Fonticiella ... Gabrielle Bluestone, who was EP of Netflix's "FYRE," is 3-0 ... Ret. Admiral Dennis Blair is 72 ... John LaBombard, who works on comms for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), is 35 ... Martin Meservie ... Adrienne Arsht (h/t Michael LaRosa) ... L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti is 48 ... Abby Cable ... Thad Inge is 38 ... David Rauf ... Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) is 72 ... Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.) is 49 ... former Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) is 58 ... CTV's Will Dugan
is 33 (h/t Tim Mak) ... Jessica Byrd ... Ashley (Huggins) Laryea ... CNAS' Ilan Goldenberg ... Eli Woerpel (h/t Annie Humphrey) ... Mariah Hill, who was the campaign manager for Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.) ... Rachael (Kahne) Freitas (h/ts Kris Purcell) ...

... Amelia Chasse, comms director for Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who celebrated this weekend at the Salamander in Middleburg, Va. (hubby tip: Lenny Alcivar) ... Dan Berger is 54 ... Blair Bender ... Justin Richards, NRCC political director ... POLITICO's Terry Ticey ... Dwight Bullard is 42 ... Morgan Rako ... Vox's Sean Illing ... David Edelman, director of MIT's Project on Technology, Economy & National Security ... Seth Michaels, comms officer at Union of Concerned Scientists, is 4-0. "He is celebrating by taking his black belt test in Aikido a few weeks after" (h/t Brad Bauman) ... Sara Himeles ... Susan Roth ... Janice Laurente ... Deborah Steelman Macon ... Joe Thompson ... HP Patel
... Chuck Pruitt ... Ann Liston (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... journalist Taimoor Shah ... Eugene Sepulveda ... former Argentine President Isabel Peron is 88 (h/t AP)

A message from U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

Every week the tariffs on Canada and Mexico remain in place, approximately $500 million of America's imports and exports are hit with tariffs, raising costs for American families, hurting U.S. manufacturers, and putting American jobs at risk. To keep our economy growing, we must remove the steel and aluminum tariffs on our North American neighbors. Learn more.

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