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By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, Daniel Lippman, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun

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NEWS ... SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO is speaking at the MOKAN Forum breakfast on Tuesday, the latest move that will spark speculation he is mulling a bid for the Kansas Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Pat Roberts. MOKAN stands for Missouri-Kansas. The breakfast is on the same day as the State of the Union. The event will be at Charlie Palmer, and the invitation notes that he will be accompanied by Toni Porter, one of his top aides in Foggy Bottom, who also worked for him on Capitol Hill.

-- OUR COLLEAGUE ALEX ISENSTADT reported that Pompeo was slated to meet with Ward Baker, one of the top GOP Senate operatives.

FOR HILL FOLK ... SOTU-related street closures: From USCP

DEPT. OF NOT IN THE RACE ... WSJ dubs BETO the "front runner": "Beto O'Rourke Weighs Presidential Campaign From an Unusual Position: Front Runner," by Reid Epstein in El Paso, Texas

HERE WE GO AGAIN ... PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP TWEETED at 6:49 a.m.: "If the committee of Republicans and Democrats now meeting on Border Security is not discussing or contemplating a Wall or Physical Barrier, they are Wasting their time!"

PREVIEW ... CNN'S MANU RAJU (@mkraju): "Pelosi, responding to Trump's tweet that it's a 'waste of time' to negotiate if they won't discuss the wall, told me: 'I think a conference committee can reach a good result left to its own devices without interference from anybody else. I have confidence in the appropriators.'"

-- @mkraju: "I asked if Trump should stay out of talks, and Pelosi said: 'He should sign the bill.'"

L.A. TIMES' ELI STOKOLS and JEN HABERKORN: "Trump's imaginary friends: Are Democrats for a wall any more real than Jim in Paris?": "[T]hrough the record 35-day partial government shutdown, there were the federal workers who, despite missing two paychecks, 'care so much about border security,' Trump said, that they were 'encouraging' him to stand his ground for the border wall.

"Since then Trump has insisted on the existence of new companions: Democrats secretly supportive of money for the wall. This time, however, it matters whether such people exist. If they do, Trump might manage to fulfill his signature campaign promise. If they don't, he likely will find himself at the end of three weeks facing the same limited options: humiliating defeat or a legally and politically risky declaration of a national emergency, so he can spend billions on a wall without Congress' approval." LAT

CNN'S KATE BOLDUAN (@KateBolduan): "Heading into today's shutdown negotiations -- @RepCuellar just told me he's a firm no on any money for a wall or physical barrier or fence at the border. He's one of the lawmakers in charge of negotiating a compromise."

BLOOMBERG'S MIKE DORNING (@MikeDorning): "BREAKING: Vice President Pence won't be in the country when temporary funding for the government runs out Feb. 15. Going to Poland and Germany Feb. 13-16."

SCOOP ... CNBC'S KAYLA TAUSCHE: "Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is charging a whopping $200,000 per speaking gig": "Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is currently quoting $200,000 and the use of a private jet for domestic speaking engagements, according to seven people with knowledge of the arrangement, who spoke on condition of anonymity because such quotes aren't made publicly available. Engagements outside the United States could cost considerably more, these people said." CNBC

Good Wednesday afternoon. The Fed will issue its latest policy statement -- including any changes to interest rates -- at 2 p.m. WSJ's Nick Timiraos on expectations it will hold steady

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THE LATEST ON VENEZUELA ... REBECCA MORIN: "Trump congratulates Venezuelan opposition leader in call": "President Donald Trump on Tuesday congratulated Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, the man the U.S. and other Western nations have recognized as that country's legitimate leader, for 'his historic assumption of the presidency' amid ongoing civil unrest opposing the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

"'President Donald J. Trump spoke today with Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaido to congratulate him on his historic assumption of the presidency and to reinforce President Trump's strong support for Venezuela's fight to regain its democracy,' White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement." POLITICO

HEADLINES THE PRESIDENT WON'T LIKE ... "Foxconn reconsidering plans to make LCD panels at Wisconsin plant," by Reuters' Jess Macy Yu and Karl Plume: "Announced at a White House ceremony in 2017, the 20-million square foot campus marked the largest greenfield investment by a foreign-based company in U.S. history and was praised by President Donald Trump as proof of his ability to revive American manufacturing. ...

"Now, those plans may be scaled back or even shelved, Louis Woo, special assistant to Foxconn Chief Executive Terry Gou, told Reuters. He said the company was still evaluating options for Wisconsin, but cited the steep cost of making advanced TV screens in the United States, where labor expenses are comparatively high." Reuters

2020 WATCH ... BLOOMBERG'S SAHIL KAPUR: "Howard Schultz Eyes 2020 Run. But What If Nobody Wants Him?": "'He one hundred percent will only run if he sees a viable path. There's no chance he gets in this race if there isn't a path,' Bill Burton, a former aide to President Barack Obama who recently joined Schultz's political team, said in an interview Tuesday.

"A decision on running may not be made until 'summer or fall,' he said. In the meantime, Schultz is planning to travel the country looking to find a critical mass of support for a candidacy." Bloomberg

... BUT, BUT, BUT -- WAPO'S MICHAEL SCHERER: "Before announcing his presidential ambitions this week, former Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz secretly undertook a months-long effort to prepare an independent presidential campaign against the nation's two-party political system, deploying more than six national polls and laying the groundwork for paid advertising that could debut in the next two months." WaPo

-- AP'S NICHOLAS RICCARDI in West Des Moines, Iowa: "Beyond liberal base, some Democrats pitch to party moderates"

-- NYT'S ALEX BURNS: "Is There Room in 2020 for a Centrist Democrat? Maybe One or Two": "If they run, these Democrats would test whether there is a large audience of primary voters open to promises of incremental change and political compromise, or whether the ascendant liberal wing is now fully dominant, defining the party's agenda around transformational goals like enacting single-payer health care and breaking up big banks.

"In most cases, these Democrats are framing their moderate instincts in terms of political process - stressing their willingness to cooperate with Republicans - or fiscal and economic concerns, including sensitivity to private business and government debt." NYT

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THE INVESTIGATIONS -- DARREN SAMUELSOHN and JOSH GERSTEIN: "Roger Stone faces a gag order. He has a plan to resist it": "If Stone is gagged, his contingency plan is already in place. He's got a well-known First Amendment attorney on his legal team who represented the rap group 2 Live Crew against obscenity charges in the early 1990s. And Stone has designated a pair of close friends as spokesmen in the event he and his lawyers are told to stop talking. Until then, Stone won't stop chattering." POLITICO

-- THE DAILY BEAST'S BETSY WOODRUFF and ERIN BANCO: "Mueller Witness' Team Gamed Out Russian Meddling ... in 2015": "Days after Donald Trump rode down an escalator at Trump Tower and announced he'd run for president, a little-known consulting firm with links to Israeli intelligence started gaming out how a foreign government could meddle in the U.S. political process. Internal communications ... show that the firm conducted an analysis of how illicit efforts might shape American politics.

"Months later, the Trump campaign reviewed a pitch from a company owned by that firm's founder-a pitch to carry out similar efforts. The founder of the firm, called Wikistrat, has been questioned by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team as they investigate efforts by foreign governments to shape American politics during the 2016 presidential campaign." The Daily Beast

-- ABC'S PETE MADDEN and MATTHEW MOSK: "NRA says 2015 Moscow trip wasn't 'official.' Emails, photos reveal gun group's role"

SPY GAMES -- REUTERS' CHRISTOPHER BING and JOEL SCHECTMAN: "Inside the UAE's Secret Hacking Team of American Mercenaries: Ex-NSA operatives reveal how they helped spy on targets for the Arab monarchy - dissidents, rival leaders and journalists": "Interviews with nine former Raven operatives, along with a review of thousands of pages of project documents and emails, show that surveillance techniques taught by the NSA were central to the UAE's efforts to monitor opponents. ...

"The operatives utilized an arsenal of cyber tools, including a cutting-edge espionage platform known as Karma, in which Raven operatives say they hacked into the iPhones of hundreds of activists, political leaders and suspected terrorists." Reuters

WAR REPORT -- "Taliban say they are not looking to rule Afghanistan alone," by AP's Kathy Gannon in Islamabad: "The statement came amid intensified U.S.-led efforts to resolve the long-running Afghanistan war. U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad reported this week that there had been 'agreements in principle' toward a framework for peace with the Taliban, who now control almost half of the country and carry out near-daily attacks, mainly targeting Afghan security forces and government officials.

"Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman based in the Gulf Arab country of Qatar where the Taliban have a political office, said that once U.S. forces withdraw from Afghanistan, the Taliban want to live with other Afghans, 'tolerate one another and start life like brothers.'" AP

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