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Presented by the National Retail Federation: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day Jan 15, 2019 View in browser
By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, Daniel Lippman, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun

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QUICK NOTE ... SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI'S favorable rating has jumped 6 points in a new Quinnipiac poll. She's now at 35 (favorable), 48 (unfavorable). The poll

HOUSE DEMOCRATS summarily rejected PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S invitation for lunch at the White House today, the White House said. Instead, nine Republicans went: Reps. Susan Brooks (Ind.), Rodney Davis (Ill.), Doug Collins (Ga.), John Katko (N.Y.), Brad Wenstrup (Ohio), Jodey Arrington (Texas), Van Taylor (Texas), Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio) and Clay Higgins (La.).

-- NEEDLESS TO SAY, this doesn't really move the government any closer to opening, since House Republicans have the least leverage and power of anyone in D.C. at the moment.

-- ALSO: The president said yesterday that many Democrats are calling, indicating that they agree with the White House's position on the shutdown and border wall. Yet not one single Democrat showed up for lunch.

THE HOUSE will be in session Tuesday to Friday next week -- meaning the weeklong recess has been canceled due to the shutdown.

A.G. WATCH -- MARIANNE LEVINE: "Attorney general nominee breaks with Trump over Mueller's probe": "[William] Barr told Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) that he did not think Mueller "would be involved in a witch hunt," a term Trump has used repeatedly to deride the investigation. Barr also told the Judiciary Committee that he agreed with former Attorney General Jeff Sessions' decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation - the primary reason Trump soured on Sessions. ...

"Barr emphasized during his hearing that he would not be pushed around and pledged not to allow White House interference in the content of Mueller's final report. ... Barr said his memo did not in any way question 'the Special Counsel's core investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.'" POLITICO

BULLETIN -- AP'S LARRY NEUMEISTER: "Judge bars citizenship question from 2020 census": "The Trump administration cannot put a question about citizenship status on the 2020 census, a federal judge in New York ruled Friday in a boost to proponents of counting immigrants.

"In a 277-page decision that won't be the final word on the issue, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ruled that while such a question would be constitutional, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had moved to add it to the census arbitrarily and had not followed proper administrative procedures." AP

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE ... THE GUARDIAN'S ED PILKINGTON and MARTIN PENGELLY: "Chris Christie accuses Jared Kushner of political 'hit job' in explosive new book": "Christie blames this key player in the president's inner circle for his ignominious dismissal shortly after Trump's election victory in November 2016. Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, writes [in his new book "Let Me Finish"] that Kushner's role in his sacking was confirmed to him by Steve Bannon, Trump's campaign chief, in real time. ...

"The political assassination was carried out by Kushner as a personal vendetta, Christie writes, that had its roots in his prosecution, as a then federal attorney, of Charles Kushner in 2005." The Guardian ... $18.30 on Amazon

THE PRESIDENT'S LATEST SHUTDOWN TWEETS -- @realDonaldTrump at 7:37 a.m.: "A big new Caravan is heading up to our Southern Border from Honduras. Tell Nancy and Chuck that a drone flying around will not stop them. Only a Wall will work. Only a Wall, or Steel Barrier, will keep our Country safe! Stop playing political games and end the Shutdown!"

... at 7:49 a.m.: "Polls are now showing that people are beginning to understand the Humanitarian Crisis and Crime at the Border. Numbers are going up fast, over 50%. Democrats will soon be known as the Party of Crime. Ridiculous that they don't want Border Security!"

... at 8:25 a.m.: "Why is Nancy Pelosi getting paid when people who are working are not?"

-- REMINDER: THE TWENTY-SEVENTH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION: "No law varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened."

Good Tuesday afternoon.

A message from the National Retail Federation:

American small businesses will be among the biggest losers of a trade war as tariffs threaten their bottom lines and force price increases. Scroll down to learn more. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d702d5b10ea677cbb7a77589ab57fe89442e56dc03d2fd6c2ba21a88c7cdec198966a37c659c60346f8ca4dd8e71bd38

SCOOP -- NYT'S ANNIE KARNI: "White House Considering Indra Nooyi to Head World Bank": "Ms. Nooyi, who stepped down from her role at PepsiCo last August after leading the company for 12 years, has been courted as an administration ally by Ivanka Trump, the president's eldest daughter who is playing a role in the selection of a nominee.

"The decision-making process for the top post at the World Bank is fluid and in its initial stages and early front-runners and candidates often fall off the radar, or withdraw from consideration, before the president makes his ultimate pick." NYT

THE LATEST ON REP. STEVE KING (R-IOWA) ... CNN'S MANU RAJU (@mkraju): "This AM, Kevin McCarthy stopped short of calling on Steve King to resign, as did Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley. 'That's up to Steve King,' McCarthy said. Liz Cheney, however, said she agrees with McConnell: 'I think he should find another line of work.'"

THE INVESTIGATIONS ... DARREN SAMUELSOHN (@dsamuelsohn): "NEW: Mueller says Rick Gates 'continues to cooperate with respect to several ongoing investigations' and again asks the court to delay his sentencing. Asks for a new status report deadline of March 15."

-- CBS' OLIVIA GAZIS: "Adam Schiff makes specialty hires for reopened Russia probe": "The new majority has made offers to half a dozen new staffers, CBS News has learned, and is still searching for six more. Among the latest hires are an expert in corruption and illicit finance and a former prosecutor. ...

"The new staff additions are intended to enhance the committee's ability to make inroads on unanswered questions in the Russia investigation without requiring it to pivot away from the 'day job' of overseeing the intelligence community's 17 organizations, according to committee officials. But the final team will likely bring with it the investigative and prosecutorial specialties Schiff has long sought." CBS

ON THE WORLD STAGE -- WSJ'S MICHAEL GORDON: "Russia Challenges U.S. Compliance With Nuclear Treaty": "The procedures had been debated for several years by American and Russian experts behind closed doors-until Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov toughened the stance in late December by calling the U.S. practices a violation of the treaty.

"Russian officials reinforced Mr. Ryabkov's complaint by sending U.S. lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee an 11-page paper that exposes confidential diplomatic discussions between the U.S. and Russian officials over how to reduce the nuclear arms covered by the accord. The document includes a subtle but unmistakable warning: that the failure to resolve the dispute could damage the prospects for renewing the New Start treaty when it expires in two years." WSJ

HEADS UP -- "North Korea's Less-Known Military Threat: Biological Weapons," by NYT's Emily Baumgaertner and William Broad: "A single gallon of anthrax, if suitably distributed, could end human life on Earth. Even so, the Trump administration has given scant attention to North Korea's pursuit of living weapons - a threat that analysts describe as more immediate than its nuclear arms ...

"North Korea is collaborating with foreign researchers to learn biotechnology skills and build machinery. As a result, the country's capabilities are increasing rapidly. ... The North may want to threaten a devastating germ counterattack as a way of warding off aggressors. If so, its bioweapons would act as a potent deterrent. But experts also worry about offensive strikes and agents of unusual lethality, especially the smallpox virus." NYT

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -- AP'S ELLEN KNICKMEYER: "EPA criminal action against polluters hits 30-year low"

-- THE DAILY BEAST'S LACHLAN MARKAY: "Elizabeth Warren Wants Ethics Probe Into Mulvaney's USC Job Hunt": "Provisions of that law, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, 'are designed to stop officials from using their positions to benefit potential employers in order to increase the likelihood of obtaining post-government employment,' Warren wrote in a letter on Tuesday to ethics lawyers for the White House Office of Management and Budget, where Mulvaney still serves as director, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which he led until December." The Daily Beast

2020 WATCH -- BUZZFEED'S DARREN SANDS: "White 2020 Candidates' Central Dilemma: Can They Move A Black Audience?": "Before beginning in earnest to lay the groundwork for a run at the nomination, each Democrat displayed a trait rare in white politicians: the ability with words and presence to electrify a mostly black audience. The importance of that ability, which eluded every unsuccessful Democratic nominee since the advent of television, is about to be brought to bear on the 2020 Democratic primary, as likely candidates weigh how to honor Martin Luther King Day and celebrate Black History Month.

"A white candidate who excites black audiences is an intriguing match to the current moment of racial tension in America, as the Democratic Party works to elect a nominee to defeat a president who dismisses claims that his presidency has stoked the fires of racism." BuzzFeed

AFTERNOON READ -- POLITICO MAGAZINE'S MICHAEL GRUNWALD: "The Trouble With the 'Green New Deal'": "[I]t's been done once before, and just a decade ago: President Barack Obama signed a prototype Green New Deal into law in February 2009, pouring an unprecedented $90 billion into clean electricity, renewable fuels, advanced batteries, energy efficiency, a smarter grid, and a slew of other green initiatives. ...

"Democrats of all political stripes are now studying the green stimulus as a potential inspiration for a Green New Deal, as well as a cautionary tale. It jump-started America's gradual transition to a low-carbon economy, but it didn't capture America's imagination-and when it did get attention, it was mostly mocked for financing the failure of a solar manufacturer called Solyndra. ... That debate produced a bill that was substantively groundbreaking for clean energy but politically debilitating for Democrats." POLITICO Magazine

MEDIAWATCH ... ADAM MOSS LEAVING N.Y. MAG ... NYT'S MICHAEL GRYNBAUM: "Adam Moss, whose visual savvy and ear for the zeitgeist made him one of the leading magazine editors of his generation, said on Tuesday that he would step down from New York magazine, his canvas for the past 15 years." NYT

-- "Facebook, fighting off skeptics, plans to invest $300 million in journalism programs," by CNN's Brian Stelter

SPOTTED: Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) at a Deseret News discussion Monday night at the Newseum titled "Integrity and Trust: Lessons from Watergate and Today," featuring Bob Woodward. Pic of Romney ... Eli Miller having dinner with U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Ron Gidwitz at Fiola Mare ... Rep. Al Lawson (D-Fla.) dining at Hank's on the Hill. Pic

WEEKEND WEDDING -- Madeline Marshall, a video news producer at Vox and a WSJ and POLITICO alum, married Todd Himes, a beer and cheese buyer for Glen's Garden Market. The couple met on a beard dating app called Bristlr. Pic by Two Pair Photography

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Ryan Colaianni, a VP at Edelman, and Erinn Colaianni, the controller for Arena Finance at Monumental Sports and Entertainment, welcomed Landon Lawrence and Stella Doretta. Instapics

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