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Today's POLITICO Playbook presented by DaVita

By ANNA PALMER (anna@politico.com; @apalmerdc), JAKE SHERMAN (sherman@politico.com; @JakeSherman) and DANIEL LIPPMAN (daniel@politico.com; @dlippman)

Listen to today's Audio Briefing | Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Visit the online home of Playbook
Driving the Day
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- THE HOUSE REPUBLICAN OUTSIDE GROUP'S MASSIVE 2017: THE CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP FUND and its sister group, THE AMERICAN ACTION NETWORK raised $66 million in 2017 -- a massive haul that will be needed to help limit losses in what's expected to be a rough year for the House GOP. CLF, which discloses its donors, raised $26 million last year and has $15 million on hand. AAN does not disclose its donors. COMPARISON: The group says that in 2015, the two entities raised $7 million.

-- CORRY BLISS, the executive director of the groups, is running a shadow party committee from his offices on Pennsylvania Avenue. He has opened field offices in districts across the United States -- a way to raise awareness about races close to a year before Election Day. Like most political groups, though, Bliss will spend lots of money on TV to try to protect House Republicans in 2018. FOR YOUR AWARENESS: CLF just opened an office in Pennsylvania's 18th district ahead of a special election there to replace Tim Murphy, a Republican who resigned from the House. The group disclosed $100,000 in spending for "groundgame" yesterday, and $2,525 for "doorhangers."

THE HOUSE gaveled back into session yesterday, and held one vote series last night. The mood was a bit tense. Republican leaders are negotiating an immigration package and a massive spending increase -- two issues that tripped up speakers in the past.

SIREN -- ONE SENIOR HOUSE REPUBLICAN said to us: "It feels like 2006." In 2006, Democrats snatched 31 seats, and took the majority from the GOP, making Nancy Pelosi speaker.

CASE IN POINT -- "California Republican Rep. Ed Royce won't seek reelection, creating bigger opening for Democrats," by LA Times' Christine Mai-Duc and Sarah D. Wire: "The district backed Hillary Clinton for president by eight percentage points in 2016, and Royce had drawn challenges from a handful of viable Democrats. ... His announcement prompted David Wasserman, the editor of the nonpartisan election prognosticator Cook Political Report, to move the district from its 'lean Republican' category to 'lean Democratic.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a941f737c338e78ef3c575e82a81a86cb6b269301802f59266ae1bd04c6acaab71cb4280e5b4d4d722

-- ROYCE is the seventh House Republican committee chairman to forgo re-election, and the 17th House Republican to call it quits ahead of the 2018 election.

BEHIND THE SCENES -- "Republicans: Budget deal prospects are dimming," by Rachael Bade, Seung Min Kim, and John Bresnahan: "Congressional Republicans and White House officials are increasingly skeptical that they'll reach a long-term budget agreement with Democrats in the next 11 days, accusing progressives of slow-walking a spending deal until they get what they want on immigration. Party leaders from both sides of the aisle have been quietly working to raise stiff spending caps to avert a government shutdown before Jan. 19, when federal agency funding runs dry.

"But Republicans claim Democrats won't back a long-term spending plan until Congress agrees to shield hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants from deportation. The Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which gave safe harbor to 'Dreamers,' formally ends March 5 -- although some immigrants have already started losing their protections.

"Yet Democrats and Republicans are still far apart on border security and other immigration provisions that would be needed to clinch a deal on the matter. That means Republicans now face the possibility of having no budget accord any time soon -- unless they cave to Democrats." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a9ed89ccfaa8e8e43365ef6e73ec84dcaaf513df61a07722e01398acbbcb1c5e920487319595bf4dcf

-- 10 DAYS until the government shuts down.

Good Tuesday morning. SPOTTED: Anthony Scaramucci yesterday at lunch at Café Du Parc near the White House (h/t @RameshPonnuru)

TOP TALKER -- CNN'S MANU RAJU: "Trump a genius? Hill Republicans not so sure": "'He's smart and capable at getting himself elected president," said Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran. But is he a genius? Moran paused for several seconds, smiled and said simply, 'Got nothing.' ...

"'Listen, my view of the President -- I find him to be engaging, gracious, you know, pretty funny, and I don't have a question he's fit for office,' said Sen. Ron Johnson, the conservative from Wisconsin. Asked if he agreed with Trump's assessment that he's a genius, Johnson laughed, walked into the Senate chamber and didn't reply. ...

"Asked if he agreed with Trump, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott: 'I'm not commenting on anything.' Asked why not, Scott quipped: 'I don't want to.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a9b256c9c55e91acc08c2fc8c120663408dc5e6ebd11db803e49405da3fa920ac29710599f0c2a3048

ROLL TIDE -- "On the night the Alabama dynasty refused to die," by AL.com's Kevin Scarbinsky: "It meant six points for Alabama, two more than it needed to prevail 26-23 and overcome a Georgia team built in its image. For the better part of 60 minutes, the sequel was better than the original.

"How long did the Crimson Tide enjoy the lead? For not one second of official game time, but they'll own it from here to eternity. It means six national championships for Nick Saban, five of them at Alabama in the last nine years, and only one man in the poll era has reached that number." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a9a6a53fbe8853b647d7c0be85ac7a47a7e59392267ca46ff67e3a51a14c3adf1b0f29b9298589be3d

THE BIG QUESTION -- "Is Trump mentally fit? Don't count on his physical to tell you: 'The things that we'd want to know are the things, unfortunately, that people won't want to reveal,' says a former White House physician," by Dan Diamond and Adam Cancryn: "If President Donald Trump were any other 71-year-old - covered by Medicare and having his annual wellness visit - he'd be checked on his cognitive functions and possible safety risks. But when the president goes for his physical exam Friday, the White House said his mental fitness won't be tested.

"And there's no guarantee that the public would find out the results of cognitive tests if Trump were to take them. White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said such tests are not part of the president's planned physical. 'He's sharp as a tack. He's a workhorse, and he demands his staff be the same way,' he told reporters aboard Air Force One." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a91c7590a9a20fb0af13f6e46cf380cca25015d6cf654dd9ceb30471bcbf2bd90403ce2755abd2e1f4

-- "The White House struggles to silence talk of Trump's mental fitness," by WaPo's Phil Rucker and Ashley Parker: "Trump privately resents the now-regular chatter on cable television news shows about his mental health and views the issue as 'an invented fact' and 'a joke,' much like the Russia probe, according to one person who recently discussed it with him. ... So far, Trump's advisers have adopted a posture of umbrage and indignation. Rather than dignifying questions about whether their 71-year-old boss is fit to be president, they attack the inquisitors for having the gall to ask.

"In an emailed statement Monday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders slammed what she called 'ridiculous reports from detractors' and described an 'outpouring of support from a totally indignant staff.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a95daf787e941d9ebb8d8d558ee6c4d1e3efee03abbf6710b151585f47039c5d66f2b627b924784cd4


****** A message from DaVita: The time is now to give thousands of vulnerable patients access to integrated care. Support the PATIENTS Act. MyKidneyCare.org ******

WILL SHE, OR WON'T SHE? -- "Democrats say 'O! Yes!' to Winfrey," by Isaac Dovere and Matt Nussbaum: "There's no way someone makes a great speech about hope and American unity on national television and immediately gets catapulted into being a serious presidential contender. Totally absurd. A television star going straight to the White House? Ridiculous. Like the early talk of Barack Obama and Donald Trump for president before her, the obsession over Oprah Winfrey as a legitimate potential White House contender was widely dismissed Monday as the latest cable catnip - except for all the hardened political operatives who spent the day amazing themselves by taking it seriously.

"Forget all the things that people are still clinging to as defining campaigns, all the usual rules for how people win elections. She is indeed a celebrity, and the reaction can look like the same empty mania The Rock set off when he floated running for president as part of the 'Baywatch' movie promotion tour. But she is also an African-American woman who grew up poor and abused, and became a self-made billionaire with a deeper understanding of how to speak to Americans - of all races and gender and geography - than anyone alive.

"Her exhibit at Washington's new African American Museum is already bigger than Obama's. 'There isn't anybody who's a greater antithesis to Donald Trump than Oprah Winfrey,' said David Axelrod, who helped turn Obama's 2004 convention keynote into a real campaign. 'I don't know whether she's running or not, but I recognize the beats, and they were done exquisitely,' said Mike Murphy, who said he felt déja vu watching Sunday night's speech, back from the days when he helped Arnold Schwarzenegger become the governor of California." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a9e080353878ae7d82b661ea5ddac24fe639878059bffdd200cfb3765fc6e3fb9bbc743186f17af9c0

--"Oprah 2020? Democrats Swing From Giddy to Skeptical at the Prospect," by NYT's Alex Burns and Amy Chozick: "If Ms. Winfrey's ambitions are unclear, the sometimes giddy reaction to her speech at a Hollywood awards dinner underscored the unfulfilled hunger among Democrats for a larger-than-life leader to challenge President Trump.

"With no obvious front-runner for the 2020 campaign, Democrats appear likely to spend the next few years grinding through internal disagreements over policy and identity in a long contest for the nomination. ... In the imagination of some Democrats, Ms. Winfrey might offer an easy way out of those problems. She inspires crucial groups for the party - women and African-Americans - and alienates few. She has cast herself in American culture as an avatar of optimism, not defined in ideological terms. Having made a career out of preaching the values of empowerment and inclusion, she represents in some ways a natural counterpoint to Mr. Trump's proud pugilism."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a9d5b459735d61899b23fc3e3c370958e59963eecaa51d640819d97b1d0e5dcaa2fc1217acadb9d697

-- WAPO BOB COSTA TALKS TO MERYL STREEP, WHO ENDORSES OPRAH!: "'She's overwhelmed by the groundswell of support, the absolute avalanche of hashtags and phone calls about running for president,' said Richard Sher, a friend and former broadcasting partner in Baltimore who spoke with Winfrey by phone Monday.

"Sher added: 'If she set out to do it, she'd win. But at this point it's other people, not her, that's talking about it. She's just taking it all in and happy that what she had to say struck such a chord around the country.' ... 'She launched a rocket tonight. I want her to run for president,' actress Meryl Streep told The Washington Post on Sunday. 'I don't think she had any intention [of declaring]. But now she doesn't have a choice.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a9524ad5a4d5a5cd3728a5eebabaf774e27c89cd1e8db9bbf140990230cfcae2828f3841a16e490585

-- "Should Oprah Run? We asked 14 pundits on both sides to take the question seriously" POLITICO Magazine -- with quotes from Jim Messina, Bill Kristol, Jesse Ferguson, Rick Wilson, Newt Gingrich, Scottie Nell Hughes, Ron Bonjean, Michael Steel, Stephanie Schriock http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a9a1e439e0609649d4eb8e986de2ebf5fa8d289f3f31276f19631d832526da44d396a37c8834cbfc61

-- IVANKA TRUMP LIKES WHAT OPRAH SAID: @ivankatrump at 9:54 p.m.: "Just saw @Oprah's empowering & inspiring speech at last night's #GoldenGlobes. Let's all come together, women & men, & say #TIMESUP! #United".

BUT, BUT, BUT -- @PeterAlexander: "NEW: A source close to @Oprah tells @tvkatesnow as of today, she has no intention of running for President in 2020: 'It's not happening. She has no intention of running,' the source said. Source says that's from Oprah herself."

FOR YOUR RADAR -- "Seoul: North Korea to send delegation to Olympics in South," by AP's Hyung-Jin Kim in Seoul: "North Korea agreed Tuesday to send a delegation to next month's Winter Olympics in South Korea, Seoul officials said, as the bitter rivals sat for rare talks at the border to discuss how to cooperate in the Olympics and improve their long-strained ties. The Koreas' first talks in two years were arranged after North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un recently made an abrupt push for improved ties with South Korea after a year of elevated tensions with the outside world over his expanding nuclear and missile programs. Critics say Kim may be trying to divide Seoul and Washington in a bid to
weaken international pressure and sanctions on the North." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a9985f09bc36d726bbe41d721ca86566f04d6d37324821dec2ebc5b4de98907a67bf33997c53617b11

-- "Tillerson tells AP Cuba still risky; FBI doubts sonic attack," by AP's Josh Lederman and Matt Lee: "The United States would be 'putting people intentionally in harm's way' if it sent diplomats back to Cuba, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says in an Associated Press interview, even as a new FBI report casts doubt on the initial theory that Americans there have been hit by 'sonic attacks.' Following months of investigation and four FBI trips to Havana, an interim report from the bureau's Operational Technology Division says the probe has uncovered no evidence that sound waves could have damaged the Americans' health, the AP has learned. The report, dated Jan. 4, doesn't address other
theories and says the FBI will keep investigating until it can show there's been no intentional harm." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a99b3b6f7415cd92b656b26cd8fc3e944fef9a73bb65b8a03274d3f45a8252e2b30d60bb75b7bcd9bf

BULLETIN -- AP at 4:27 a.m.: "TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranian parliament member says some 3,700 people were arrested during days of protests, unrest in Iran."

2018 WATCH -- "Mike Pence Plans Active Role in GOP's 2018 Campaign," by WSJ's Peter Nicholas and Mike Bender: "Vice President Mike Pence is jumping into the midterm elections, planning visits soon to Nevada and Pennsylvania and helping recruit a candidate in Ohio amid an aggressive push to retain Republican control of Congress. Mr. Pence, in an interview at his White House office Monday, conceded that history shows it is difficult for the president's party to stave off midterm election losses, but said that economic gains could help Republicans strengthen their grip on the Senate. 'We know the historic trends ... but I have to tell you, we've got a great story to tell,' Mr. Pence told The
Wall Street Journal. 'We have great momentum in the economy and we think we have an opportunity to not only buck that historic trend but we think we can expand our majority in the Senate. And we really believe that we can re-elect a majority in the House. We understand it's going to take some work.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a9ee5e762f256c2f08cfc4e6cf036388490025a14ffec2b805e93374ad4fe88cdca5fe251729a4a1a5

-- "'Hillbilly Elegy' author Vance urged to run for Senate," by Seung Min Kim and Kevin Robillard: "Top Senate Republicans have quietly reached out to J.D. Vance - the star author of 'Hillbilly Elegy' -- about running for Senate in Ohio after the abrupt withdrawal of GOP candidate Josh Mandel last week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has spoken with Vance about a potential bid, according to three sources familiar with the discussions. Mandel announced on Friday that he would exit from the Ohio Senate race -- one of the more high-profile battles in the 2018 midterm elections -- due to his wife's health issues. McConnell has told associates that he would prioritize the race if
Vance jumps in." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a9feac33baf1c991f8b3311ac6252dbb58463649a47877b492d5f02356d5fdaac249a1e48e5a9d3baa

-- "The impending GOP catastrophe in Trump's backyard: In New York, the Republican Party is coming up empty in its hunt for top statewide candidates," by Jimmy Vielkind: "Two potential candidates for New York governor against incumbent Andrew Cuomo have dropped out in the past week. No candidate against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has gotten beyond the whisper phase. There's still no challenger to the state attorney general or comptroller. In President Donald Trump's home state, the New York Republican Party is on the verge of disaster. It has so far come up dry in its efforts to put together a top-tier 2018 statewide ticket - a budding failure with implications that could ripple beyond state
borders." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a92ef518c8230893b98d811c0939a651e432ef8e5d581bb51d25bf76b3b509854be50d32311a5e48be

--"Mitt Romney was treated for prostate cancer last summer," by NBC News' Adam Edelman, Garrett Haake and Kasie Hunt: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a9949e8ed35ae1d711d3d8a70f96e2386808e8390cff1a0855667eb6b62abf2125bbd08bbdabe201c6

HE'S BACK -- "Puzder resurfaces in Trump's White House in spite of the #MeToo movement," by Nancy Cook and Marianne LeVine: "The #MeToo movement has created an atmosphere of zero tolerance for any claims of sexual harassment involving prominent men in entertainment, the media, business and Congress -- but so far it seems that rule doesn't apply in the Trump administration. Latest case in point: the White House is considering finding a role for Andy Puzder, President Donald Trump's first pick for labor secretary, who withdrew his nomination in February after old allegations of domestic abuse resurfaced, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

"It's not clear what role Puzder might take in the administration, these people said, though it would have to be a non-Senate-confirmed slot given his withdrawal as labor secretary. Puzder, who denied the abuse allegations made by his ex-wife in a 1990 appearance on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show,' also acknowledged employing an undocumented immigrant as a housekeeper before dropping out. His withdrawal, one of the first personnel missteps for the young administration, was especially sensitive because of harassment allegations that Trump faced during the campaign-most infamously the 'Access Hollywood' tape in which he was heard bragging about groping women."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a95b73f31f7bac45bb2714b6daa92158edad1ceb6c8d1f45e7e541112098caef53a14c8a53850746c3

FUSION GPS STILL AT IT -- "Fusion GPS Founder Hauled From the Shadows for the Russia Election Investigation," by NYT's Matt Flegenheimer: "A legal defense fund has been formed, one of Fusion's lawyers, Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., said, adding that the firm's legal costs had by now outstripped all compensation for investigations into Mr. Trump and his links to Russia during the campaign. But the work has not stopped. Fusion continues to look into ties between Mr. Trump and Russia, according to several people briefed on the research. [Glenn] Simpson's specific areas of focus, and information about any current benefactors, are closely guarded." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a98346b581662ee4f82d76c172b255e497ac3e1b56efa550e13da7d02cc951150c7f67ee9b5b7ded2e

THE NEXT FRONTIER -- "Republicans scrutinize FBI's media contacts in Russia case," by Kyle Cheney: "Broadening their political counterattack in defense of the White House, President Donald Trump's allies in Congress are placing new scrutiny on contacts between top Justice Department officials and reporters covering the Trump-Russia investigation. In recent weeks, GOP congressional investigators have publicly and privately questioned senior Justice Department and FBI leaders about interactions with reporters covering the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. The goal, according to a half-dozen lawmakers and aides, is to expose any concerted effort by law enforcement officials to spin an
anti-Trump narrative in the media through unauthorized leaks." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a9ce7536fbd66dc56c9667a9548931d9412f1efe177d564b3ca379b4e55f0fc3427d54b70267139f0a

TRUMP'S TUESDAY -- TRUMP is meeting with Senate Republicans and Democrats about immigration. He's then signing an executive order entitled "Supporting our Veterans during their Transition from Uniformed Service to Civilian Life." At 2:30 p.m., he'll meet with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.


Playbook Reads


PHOTO DU JOUR: President Donald Trump walks on the field prior to the college football national championship between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 8 in Atlanta. Alabama defeated Georgia in overtime. | Jamie Squire/Getty Images

BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- Blue states eye 'political gift' in tax workaround fight with Trump," by Jimmy Vielkind, Ryan Hutchins, and David Siders with an Albany dateline: "The new tax law's repeal of the state and local deduction may pose a fiscal threat to high-tax states and their affluent taxpayers. But it's also a political gift to Democratic officials in those states seeking to raise their national profiles by challenging President Donald Trump and circumventing the law. For Democratic leaders in New York, California and New Jersey, finding state-level workarounds to the new tax code could deliver on a pocketbook issue for a key constituency: voters in high-cost suburbs from Orange
County, Calif. to Westchester who are set to lose out most from the SALT repeal.

"Take New York governor Andrew Cuomo: He's called the SALT repeal tantamount to 'economic civil war' as he lays the groundwork for a potential Democratic primary bid in 2020. Like his counterparts in California and New Jersey, he's considering mechanisms for taxpayers to fund state and local government with charitable contributions that are then credited against their tax liability; he's also looking at a proposal to shift the tax burden from income taxes to payroll taxes." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a96e7c92acd944373d83e89d76abea8e5523f816f8e97e4c0898fd86c81a15e80a7e730fe40d5bd0fc

DAVID BROOKS, "The Decline of Anti-Trumpism": "Let me start with three inconvenient observations, based on dozens of conversations around Washington over the past year: First, people who go into the White House to have a meeting with President Trump usually leave pleasantly surprised. They find that Trump is not the raving madman they expected from his tweetstorms or the media coverage. They generally say that he is affable, if repetitive. He runs a normal, good meeting and seems well-informed enough to get by. Second, people who work in the Trump administration have wildly divergent views about their boss. Some think he is a deranged child, as Michael Wolff reported. But some think he is
merely a distraction they can work around. Some think he is strange, but not impossible.

"Some genuinely admire Trump. Many filter out his crazy stuff and pretend it doesn't exist. My impression is that the Trump administration is an unhappy place to work, because there is a lot of infighting and often no direction from the top. But this is not an administration full of people itching to invoke the 25th Amendment. Third, the White House is getting more professional. Imagine if Trump didn't tweet. The craziness of the past weeks would be out of the way, and we'd see a White House that is briskly pursuing its goals: the shift in our Pakistan policy, the shift in our offshore drilling policy, the fruition of our ISIS policy, the nomination for judgeships and the formation of
policies on infrastructure, DACA, North Korea and trade." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a92e0d2b6f3db44fa5a8fd60ef762bd3fdfbb0f893bf31c3f4933b0c1385247d8fb1828a05b2cd63fc

NEW OFF MESSAGE PODCAST -- Ahead of Trump's Fake News Awards - Isaac Dovere talks to Comedy Central's Jordan Klepper on getting inside the head of a conspiracy theorists: "As a human, there are two things that I am desperately scared of: I'm desperately afraid of being called unkind and I'm desperately afraid of being called not smart," Klepper said. And in every Trump statement, Klepper hears some version of, "'You're trying to delegitimize me and you're to make me look dumb and not as popular. I'm not dumb; I'm popular.'"

"Tweets like the 'very stable genius' one over the weekend, Klepper said, make sense: "He's the most famous person that has ever lived, and he wants a little credit." Klepper calls this "an important time" for comedy, but admits it's hard to do parody when reality seems like parody. He worries about the term "fake news," even as he mocks it every night. But the world doesn't seem funny to Klepper: "I find it mostly scary. I sometimes get afraid that I get too complacent in how commonplace it becomes." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a9ab4c12f3854edfad12b304069b9516394b28dec42c53582720f42fde236695230bf00e792c0c4080


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MEDIAWATCH -- "On Fox, Miller jabs CNN 'low journalistic standards' after Tapper interview," by Steve Beynon: "White House aide Stephen Miller on Monday continued to jab CNN the day after he was abruptly cut off by one of the network's anchors during an interview. Speaking on Fox News, the senior White House policy adviser said his encounter with CNN's Jake Tapper on CNN's 'State of the Union' showed the network's perceived bias and hostility towards President Donald Trump.

"'It's just another example of CNN's very low journalistic standards,' Miller said in an interview on Fox News' 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.' 'I was glad to have people hear what I said on camera and off camera.' He added: 'CNN has been extraordinarily biased, extraordinarily unfair to the president and is not giving their viewers honest information.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a991acd448939ef793013bcdede0fd850b93cf43498668c01d260a2320540b8062096147833da6ad1f

-- @ArdenFarhi: "Here's a transcript of at least part of the not-seen-on-TV conversation between Stephen Miller and @jaketapper during the commercial break that followed the @CNNSotu interview..." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a94d0efe32f6cb5c21740de1f7cce9a4945bf155c5468f53e6a3f7577cc75539c96300b3f726a22653

YIKES -- "U.S. Spy Satellite Believed Lost After SpaceX Mission Fails," by WSJ's Andy Pasztor: "An expensive, highly classified U.S. spy satellite is presumed to be a total loss after it failed to reach orbit atop a Space Exploration Technologies Corp. rocket on Sunday, according to industry and government officials. ... The secret payload-code-named Zuma and launched from Florida on board a Falcon 9 rocket-is believed to have plummeted back into the atmosphere, they said, because it didn't separate as planned from the upper part of the rocket. ... As of Monday night, nearly 24 hours after the launch, uncertainty surrounded both the mission and the fate of the satellite, which some industry
officials estimated carried a price tag in the billions of dollars." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a98a29c57280a9f31d3bb49f3af5d77439ea3059523a818487da6500bb91c1c5a83fbb74c60aa5e818

IT'S OFFICIAL: POLITICO is teaming up with Smart Cities New York (SCNY) for their second annual conference on May 8-10. Recognized as North America's leading global conference to address and highlight issues that cities face today and in the future, SCNY will bring Mayors, CEOs, and other prominent thought leaders together to explore how cities around the globe are "Powered by the People" and preparing to meet the critical challenges of the future. POLITICO journalists will moderate discussions centered around physical and digital infrastructure, health, education, sustainability, security, mobility, workforce development and much much more. MARK YOUR CALENDAR and join us!
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a94fc383203cb8078ba49f006aad13e26f5ea4b53683f1151088cdb76fa0cfd29f05af62ff08332e47

Playbookers
SPOTTED: Ari Fleischer leaving the special guest hospitality room at the Ritz Atlanta ahead of the national championship game -- pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a9143069b16cb780b23f0f474331829c82d4eab4ca18f6a4ece4d131209fafe5a6cfcb5bcc25baa8ad ... John Bolton on an American Airlines flight yesterday from Miami to DC, sitting in first class

TRANSITIONS -- OBAMA ALUMNI: Heather Zichal, former deputy assistant to President Obama for energy and climate change, is joining the Nature Conservancy as its new managing director of corporate engagement.

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Ben Taub, staff writer for The New Yorker, is 27. How he got his start in journalism: "In 2013, while I was in college, I saved up some money from music projects and spent a couple of months living in Kilis, a small town on the Turkish-Syrian border, trying to learn how correspondents cover conflict by meeting up with journalists and fixers who were going in and out of Aleppo. What followed was a summer of disfiguring injuries and abductions, and, later, murders of people I knew. It was a painful education in the importance of security and logistics. Good reporting in difficult places can only follow from a lot of careful planning and luck." Read his Playbook Plus Q&A:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0e9611dcc299a3a9d2307c7a12ee462b27e0d1420e1ba00dfe18c6d328d323ec80b67cbfecf0fd3fd02610274e4cd84f

BIRTHDAYS: Brooke Brower, managing editor of CNN Politics, is 4-0 ... Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin is 51 ... Pamela Walsh ... UNDP's Sarah Jackson-Han ... Princess Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge and wife of Prince William, is 36 ... Elizabeth Caputo, who heads up U.S. gov't engagement at the World Economic Forum (hat tip: Tim Burger) ... Mark Stencel ... Lauren Fritts, WeWork's head of public affairs for the East region (h/t the WeWork team) ... Rep. Mike Capuano (D-Mass.) is 65 ... WSJ's Charles Passy is 54 ... Erica Flint, manager of global communications at Marriott international luxury brands (h/t Blair Holmes) ... Tim Punke, partner at Monument Policy Group, is 47 (h/t Stewart Verdery) ...
Kim Larson, celebrating with Gary (h/t Jon Haber) ... Kenya Young, executive producer of NPR's "All Things Considered" on weekends ... Elaine Stern ... Al Felzenberg ... Luke Holland, chief of staff for Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), is 31 ... novelist Judith Krantz is 9-0 ... Linda Greenhouse is 71 (h/ts Jewish Insider) ... Don Kent, VP at the Nickles Group and a Bush 43 DHS alum (h/t Ed Cash) ...

... Josiah Ryan, CNN senior producer (h/t Oliver Darcy) ... Tasha Hendershot, email coordinator at Democratic digital firm Rising Tide Interactive, is 26 (h/t Jordan Ferguson) ... Richard Neffson ... Peter Edelman, law professor at Georgetown University, is 8-0 ... Steven Kotler is 71 ... Nicola Peltz ... Deana Bass ... Carrie Seim ... Seth Thomas Pietras ... Catherine Gatewood ... Diana Doukas, director of social responsibility at the Libra Group ... Everest Bergmann ... Jessica M. Garrison ... Colin Campbell, managing editor at Yahoo News ... Kristin Lehner ... Zubin Sharma ... Wes Roth ... Ron Castleman ... Susan Fertig-Dykes ... Catherine Fenton ... Jodi Sakol ... Bob Burke ... John
Macks ... Clinton alum Samir Arora ... Dan Black, press secretary for Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) ... Cristina Diaz-Torres.

****** A message from DaVita: SOME OF OUR COUNTRY'S MOST VULNERABLE PATIENTS ARE DEPENDING ON CONGRESS TO DO THE RIGHT THING. People with kidney disease are among the most critically ill populations in our country, and most of them depend on Medicare. Integrated care can help reduce hospitalizations and improve the lives of thousands of people. The PATIENTS Act would expand access to integrated care, allowing dialysis providers, nephrologists and caregivers to better coordinate care for kidney patients. Congress should pass the PATIENTS Act to expand access to integrated care for kidney patients. MyKidneyCare.org ******

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