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Presented by Google: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day Jan 28, 2019 View in browser
By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer and Daniel Lippman

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DRIVING THE DAY
NYT, A1 ... NICK FANDOS: "As Government Reopens, the New Congress Tries to Begin Again": "The House, which spent weeks passing futile bills to reopen the government, will turn to legislation higher on the Democrats' priority list, including a bill to raise pay for civilian federal employees. Leading Democrats also plan to reintroduce a marquee bill to close the pay gap between men and women that they have fought to enact for years.

"In the Senate, Republicans will try to push through a bipartisan Middle East policy bill that includes a disputed provision targeting the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel. With the measure, Republicans will test for fractures in the resurgent Democratic Party, where Palestinian rights activists have found new voices in House freshmen such as Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

"And in both chambers, lawmakers have teed up a high-impact lineup of hearings - effectively the first of the year. House Democrats will zero in on the cost to the military of President Trump's election-eve troop deployments to the border and begin to consider their ambitious legislation to expand voting rights, make political giving more transparent and do away with partisan gerrymandering." NYT

-- THERE IS, INDEED, A LOT OF lingering business that Congress has to get to. House Republicans put off their annual legislative retreat in West Virginia, which was meant to be at the end of this week. The State of the Union needs to be rescheduled -- we have to imagine it will be sometime in the next few weeks, before the next funding deadline.

18 DAYS until the government runs out of funding again.

... NOW YOU TELL US! ... WSJ'S PETER NICHOLAS and KRISTINA PETERSON: "Trump Skeptical He Would Accept Any Congressional Border Deal": "President Trump said Sunday he doesn't believe congressional negotiators will strike a deal over border-wall funding that he could accept and vowed that he would build a wall anyway, using emergency powers if need be.

"Mr. Trump, in an interview, assessed the chances of whether a newly formed group of 17 lawmakers could craft a deal before the next government-funding lapse, in less than three weeks: 'I personally think it's less than 50-50, but you have a lot of very good people on that board.' ... Asked if he would accept less than $5.7 billion in the next round of negotiations, Mr. Trump said: 'I doubt it,' adding, 'I have to do it right.'" WSJ

-- WAPO'S BOB COSTA and FELICIA SONMEZ: "Trump will secure border 'with or without Congress,' Mulvaney says": "The White House Counsel's Office, led by Pat Cipollone, has prepared drafts of declarations, and Trump spent much of Thursday night reviewing them in the White House residence as he watched TV coverage of the shutdown, according to two White House officials familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to speak publicly.

"Angry with Democrats' refusal to bend to his demands, in particular with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Trump pressed Cipollone for guidance about the potential legal repercussions and called friends, such as Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, to hear their views about the negotiations, the two officials said." WaPo

THE IMPACT ... WAPO'S AARON DAVIS and NEENA SATIJA: "'It feels like we are still hostages': Federal contractors who lost health insurance during shutdown remain in limbo"

HOW PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SEES IT -- @realDonaldTrump at 8:09 p.m.: "After all that I have done for the Military, our great Veterans, Judges (99), Justices (2), Tax & Regulation Cuts, the Economy, Energy, Trade & MUCH MORE, does anybody really think I won't build the WALL? Done more in first two years than any President! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Good Monday morning. BREAKING -- "U.S. and Taliban Agree in Principle to Peace Framework, Envoy Says," by NYT's Mujib Mashal in Kabul: "American and Taliban officials have agreed in principle to the framework of a peace deal in which the insurgents guarantee to prevent Afghan territory from being used by terrorists, and that could lead to a full pullout of American troops in return for a cease-fire and Taliban talks with the Afghan government, the chief United States negotiator said Monday. 'We have a draft of the framework that has to be fleshed out before it becomes an agreement,' the American envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, said in an interview with The New York Times in Kabul." NYT

AXIOS' JONATHAN SWAN: "Scoop: Trump mused about 'military option' in Venezuela with Graham": "Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told me that as recently as a couple of weeks ago Trump mused to him about the possibility of using military force in Venezuela, where the U.S. government is currently pushing for regime change using diplomatic and economic pressures. ... Graham, recalling his conversation with Trump, said: 'He [Trump] said, "What do you think about using military force?" and I said, "Well, you need to go slow on that, that could be problematic."

"And he said, 'Well, I'm surprised, you want to invade everybody.'" Graham laughed. 'And I said, "I don't want to invade everybody, I only want to use the military when our national security interests are threatened."' 'Trump's really hawkish' on Venezuela, the hawkish Graham added in a phone interview on Sunday afternoon, adding that Trump was even more hawkish than he was on Venezuela." Axios

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POLL DU JOUR -- "AP-NORC poll: Most Americans oppose Trump's foreign policy," by Deb Riechmann and Hannah Fingerhut: "A majority of Americans disapprove of the way President Donald Trump is handling U.S. foreign policy and about half think the country's global standing will deteriorate during the next year, according to new poll that highlighted the nation's partisan divide on foreign issues.

"The poll, conducted by Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, also found the public split about the president's plan to remove U.S. troops from Syria and possibly Afghanistan - and about a quarter don't have an opinion one way or the other." AP

REUTERS: "Tax cut has no major impact on business capex plans"

THE WALL STREET CONUNDRUM ... BEN WHITE: "Wall Street freaks out about 2020": "Top Wall Street executives would mostly love to be rid of President Donald Trump. But they are getting panicked about the prospect of an ultra-liberal Democratic nominee bent on raising their taxes and slapping new regulations on their firms. The result is a kind of nervous paralysis of executives pining for a centrist nominee like Michael Bloomberg while realizing such an outcome is highly unlikely from a party veering sharply to the left.

"Early support from deep-pocketed financial executives could give Democrats seeking to break out of the pack an important fundraising boost. But any association with bankers also opens presidential hopefuls to sharp attacks from an ascendant left." POLITICO

2020 WATCH -- CHRIS CADELAGO and CARLA MARINUCCI in Oakland, Calif.: "Harris kicks off campaign by laying into Trump": "Sen. Kamala Harris, formally launching her presidential campaign against Donald Trump with a call to end the politics of division, cast herself on Sunday as a voice for progressive causes and a fighter who could stand up to the president - specifically by countering his many falsehoods with the truth.

"Speaking at a raucous hometown rally here - where more than 20,000 supporters crowded around a downtown plaza and hundreds more spilled into the streets - Harris declared that American democracy was under attack like 'never before.' Set against the flags of all 50 states, but delivered in a deeply divided America, the address invoked the trauma of the Watergate era of high cynicism and low confidence in Washington's leaders." POLITICO

-- L.A. TIMES' MELANIE MASON and MARK BARABAK: "Kamala Harris emerges as a 2020 front-runner, but is that a good thing?"

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-- NYT'S ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: "Howard Schultz, Former Starbucks Chief, Is Preparing for an Independent 2020 Run": "Mr. Schultz, in an interview with The New York Times, said he planned to crisscross the country for the next three months as part of a book tour before deciding whether to enter the race. A billionaire, Mr. Schultz would face a difficult road despite his considerable wealth: Few independent candidates have mounted successful challenges for the White House." NYT ... "60 Minutes" segment last night

HOWARD WOLFSON (@howiewolf) of Bloomberg-world: "I have seen enough data over many years to know that anyone running for POTUS as an independent will split the anti-incumbent, anti-Trump vote. The stakes couldn't be higher. We can not afford the risk of spoiler politics that result in Trump's re-election."

WE KNOW HOW DIFFICULT it is to run as an independent. It's logistically impossible. Yet rich people keep mulling it, as if it's a real thing.

-- NYT'S ASTEAD HERNDON in Columbia, S.C.: "To Rise Above the Democratic Pack, Elizabeth Warren Tries 'Nerding Out'": "While other Democrats have focused on sweeping themes of unity or change, as Senator Kamala Harris of California did on Sunday at a campaign kickoff rally, Ms. Warren is making a personal and political wager that audiences care more about policy savvy than captivating oration." NYT

TRUMP'S MONDAY -- The president is having lunch with VP Mike Pence.
PLAYBOOK READS


PHOTO DU JOUR: Venezuelan National Assembly leader Juan Guaidó, now recognized by the U.S. as the country's president, greets supporters Sunday. | Fernando Llano/AP Photo

THE INVESTIGATIONS ...

-- DAVID FREEDLANDER in NY MAG, "Hiding Out With Randy Credico, the Stand-Up Comic Who Could Help Put Roger Stone in Prison"

-- ABC'S ALI DUKAKIS, "Roger Stone, ahead of arraignment, won't categorically rule out cooperation agreement with special counsel"

MAGGIE SEVERNS: "'Unless you support impeachment, we're not supporting you'": "Tom Steyer has built a formidable political organization that could give serious help to a presidential candidate in 2020, but the billionaire activist is on his own as the contest begins to take shape.

"'In Washington, D.C., talking to pundits and congresspeople - it's super lonely,' Steyer told POLITICO on Sunday during a visit to the District for a summit of his Need to Impeach organization. 'Oh, God, inside the Beltway everybody thinks I'm a low-double-digit IQ.'

"That's because Steyer is continuing to focus his energy on one of the hardest-to-sell issues in Democratic politics today: calling for lawmakers to begin impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, an effort that he says should start immediately despite most party leaders' repeated calls to wait until after special counsel Robert Mueller finishes his investigation." POLITICO

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CLIFF SIMMS, in an adaptation of "Team of Vipers," in POLITICO MAGAZINE: "'Mean as a Snake': When President Trump Met the Real Mitch McConnell" ... $17.99 on Amazon

CHRIS CHRISTIE'S NEW BOOK -- "Trump Thought Firing Flynn Would End 'Russia Thing,' Chris Christie Writes in Book," by NYT's Maggie Haberman: "President Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, believed that the 'Russia thing' would end as a side effect from the firing of the national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, in the early days of the administration, according to an account in a new memoir by Chris Christie. The incident recounted in Mr. Christie's book, 'Let Me Finish,' is among the anecdotes describing how the president and Mr. Kushner grappled with a campaign and a presidency that Mr. Christie says neither was prepared for.

"Part autobiography and part firsthand accounting of a presidency, the book, which will be released on Tuesday, paints Mr. Trump as a phenom who was obviously effective as a candidate - but who has relied on the wrong people and has been ill-served by many advisers, including some members of his family." NYT
PLAYBOOKERS
SPOTTED: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at Cafe Milano last night ... French Ambassador Gérard Araud and Pascal Blondeau separately at Cafe Milano ... Marty Baron at Pappe on 14th.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- Former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) is joining the McCain Institute Board of Trustees.

TRANSITION -- Ian Rayder is starting as the director of federal affairs at Denver International Airport. Rayder was the director of government affairs at Cisco, and is also a Debbie Wasserman Schultz alum.

BIRTHWEEK (was Saturday): Anders Fogh Rasmussen turned 66 ... Olivia Beavers, reporter at The Hill

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Maria Comella, global head of regional public affairs and policy at WeWork. What she's been reading recently: "Just finished reading 'Those Angry Days' by Lynne Olson. It explores the tensions in America in the lead up to our entry in WWII. It's important to remember where we have been before and how we weathered through periods that would ultimately come to define us. It's natural for society to react in certain ways (isolationism being a reaction to WWI and economic concerns) which is why it's important there are those who not only can see beyond those tendencies, but fight to ensure we don't succumb to them." Playbook Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) is 72 ... Christy Gibson ... Lael Brainard, a member of the Fed's Board of Governors ... Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) is 5-0 ... former Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) is 63 ... Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) is 71 ... Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-N.Y.) is 42 ... POLITICO's Peter King and Ray Gurganus ... Terry McNaughton ... Nick Iacono, a Georgetown Law student, is 29 ... Jeff Selingo ... Helen Kalla ... Bloomberg View columnist Justin Fox ... Grant Campbell ... Tom Downey ... Lynnette Williams, SVP at Edelman ... former Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) is 68 ... Leslie Jones, former Obama USDA deputy undersecretary, is 5-0 (hubby tip: Max Williamson) ...
Ted Greener, executive director of public affairs at the Association of American Railroads ...

... Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, is 57 ... Matt DoBias ... Frank Purcell ... Alexandra Thornton ... Sam Greene ... Anne Manhart ... Daniel Remler ... Allison Barber ... Katie Varoga ... Jon Erpenbach is 58 ... Roberta Gassman ... Patricia Stirb ... John Milewski ... Susan Johannesmann ... Jen Millikin ... Missy Lieberman, manager of gov't relations at the Pew Charitable Trusts ... Peggy Greenberg ... CNN senior photojournalist Jay McMichael ... Matt Britt ... Achim Bergmann ... Tyler Harber ... Fred J. Nation ... Rick Warren is 65 ... former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is 64 (hat tips: AP)

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