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Presented by the BlueCross BlueShield Association: Feb 15, 2019 View in browser
By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, Daniel Lippman, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun

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THE LATEST ON THE EMERGENCY DECLARATION ... ANITA KUMAR and CAITLIN OPRYSKO: "Trump declares national emergency to unlock border wall funds": "The national emergency declaration is being used to tap the largest pot of money - the $3.6 billion earmarked for military construction. The White House is relying on other legal authorities to justify redirections of the other financial resources. 'It's an all-of-the-above approach,' said a person close to the White House. 'He always knew Congress was never going to give him the money he needed.'

"But even as Trump made the border announcement on Friday, he focused much of his remarks on other areas he considers clear victories - trade negotiations, the economy and his efforts to denuclearize North Korea. Before even officially announcing the anticipated declaration, Trump took a winding path through the other topics for about 15 minutes." POLITICO

WHAT TRUMP SAID ... LINE OF THE DAY -- TRUMP: "I want to do it faster. I could do the wall over a longer period of time, I didn't need to do this, but I'd rather do it faster. I want to get it done faster, that's all."

-- TRUMP: "We will have a national emergency, and we will then be sued, and they will sue us in the Ninth Circuit, even though it shouldn't be there. And we will possibly get a bad ruling. And then we'll get another bad ruling, and then we'll end up in the Supreme Court and hopefully we'll get a fair shake and win in the Supreme Court.

"Just like the ban, they sued us in the Ninth Circuit and we lost, and then we lost in the appellate division. Then we went to the Supreme Court and we won." 1:33 video

-- GABBY ORR (@GabbyOrr_): "This is new: Trump says he plans to 'use' a 2nd national emergency first declared by Obama: 'We may be using one of the national emergencies that he signed having to do with criminal cartels... It's a very good national emergency... we're going to be using parts of it.'"

-- PAGING PAUL RYAN ... TRUMP: "I am very disappointed at certain people, a particular one, for not having pushed this faster." NBC'S KELLY O'DONNELL: "Are you referring to Speaker Ryan, sir?" TRUMP: "Let's not talk about it. ... In the meantime, I built a lot of wall. I have a lot of money and I built a lot of wall. It would have been nice to have gotten it done. I would have liked to have seen major immigration reform."

-- WAPO'S JOSH DAWSEY (@jdawsey1): "Stephen Miller, Russ Vought and others had AM call with surrogates to sell deal. Said quick construction would 'shock' people, effort is being made to keep California from having jurisdiction to sue, most action will be in Texas, Trump will 'veto' any move to block declaration."

THE PUSHBACK HAS BEGUN ... BLOOMBERG'S EMMA KINERY and SHIRA STEIN: "Ocasio-Cortez, Joaquin Castro Plan Bill to Block Trump's Emergency Declaration"

HOW WE GOT HERE ... POLITICO TICK-TOCK ... BURGESS EVERETT and HEATHER CAYGLE: "How Schumer and McConnell kept Trump out of the shutdown talks": "When Trump first announced he was giving Congress only three weeks to reach a border security deal, few in Washington thought bipartisan negotiations would achieve anything.

"But the story of how the conference committee and its leaders succeeded after so many brutal months fighting over Trump's wall is a simple one, according to more than a dozen lawmakers and aides: Trump largely stayed out of it. And seasoned veterans were allowed to do what they've done their entire congressional careers - figure out diplomatic ways to spend hundreds of billions of dollars." POLITICO

Happy Friday afternoon. PROGRAMMING NOTE -- Playbook PM will take a break Monday for Presidents Day. We'll still be in your inboxes in the morning, and PM will return Tuesday.

SPOTTED: Eric Bolling and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) on Thursday talking in the lobby of the Hotel Bennett in Charleston, S.C. Pic

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SCOTUS WATCH -- NYT'S ADAM LIPTAK: "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg returned to the Supreme Court on Friday to participate in a private conference at which the justices considered adding cases to the court's docket, a court spokeswoman said. It was Justice Ginsburg's first appearance at the court since undergoing cancer surgery in December. ... She is expected to be on the bench on Tuesday when the court returns from its four-week midwinter break." NYT

WAR REPORT -- REUTERS' PHIL STEWART and GREG TORODE in Muscat/Kabul: "Exclusive: U.S. may trim over 1,000 troops from Afghanistan in belt-tightening -- general"

R.I.P. DEFICIT HAWKS ... NYT'S BINYAMIN APPELBAUM: "The Federal Debt Is Rising. Concern Is Not": "The federal debt ticked past $22 trillion this week, a record that comes despite continued economic growth, but neither political party appears to be making a priority of debt reduction. ...

"The absence of alarmist talk about federal borrowing represents a sharp shift. ... Republicans have embraced Mr. Trump's agenda of tax cuts and spending increases, arguing that it will lift economic growth. Democrats are seeking a very different set of changes in fiscal policy, but they too argue the federal debt is not an urgent problem." NYT

WAPO'S RENAE MERLE: "Mel Watt attempted to 'coerce' relationship with employee while FHFA director, IG report says": "Former congressman Mel Watt misused his position when he was director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency by trying to "coerce or induce" a relationship with a female employee seeking a promotion, according to a previously unreleased Inspector General's report.

"The Inspector General's investigation was completed in late November and sent to the White House, but President Trump took no action against Watt. He retired at the end of his term in January and Trump has nominated a replacement." WaPo

ON THE WORLD STAGE -- "Venezuela Opposition's Man in D.C. Seeks to Rally U.S. Support," by WSJ's Arian Campo-Flores in Doral, Fla.: "After escaping Venezuela five years ago, [Carlos] Vecchio struggled to land meetings with influential policy makers. Now he is the most high-profile of 15 envoys to other countries named by [Juan] Guaidó ... Now he is attending meetings in the White House to determine how best to end Mr. Maduro's brutal rule." WSJ

-- NBC'S RICHARD ENGEL: "Javad Zarif warns it would be 'suicidal' to go to war with Iran": "Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned the U.S. and its allies that it would be 'suicidal' to start a war with Iran, accusing Washington of having a 'pathological obsession' with his country.

"In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with NBC News on Friday, Zarif said that the 'same gang' behind the 2003 Iraq War are "at it again" in pushing for war with his country. 'I'm not saying President Trump's administration, I'm saying people in President Trump's administration are trying to create the same eventuality and I believe they will fail,' he said." NBC

TRADE WARS -- DOUG PALMER and ADAM BEHSUDI: "Trump's China trade deal remains elusive as talks continue"

-- WSJ'S WILLIAM MAULDIN in Washington and MIKE COLIAS in Detroit: "New Tariffs Threaten to Boost Prices of Imported Cars and Parts": "The Commerce Department is concluding its investigation into whether imported cars and parts pose a national-security threat under Section 232 of U.S. trade law, with a deadline of Sunday to submit its findings to the president.

"Mr. Trump has already voiced support for levies of 20%. If the tariffs are imposed, then prices of cars from Japan, Germany, South Korea would rise sharply, assuming those countries don't receive exemptions. But buyers of domestically produced cars could be shelling out more too if tariffs are imposed on components." WSJ

HEADLINES THE PRESIDENT WON'T LIKE -- "EU's Trade Surplus With U.S., a Bone of Contention for Trump, Hits Record," by WSJ's Paul Hannon and Emre Peker

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PRIMARY ... STEPHANIE MURRAY: "Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld exploring primary challenge against Trump": "'Our president is simply too unstable to carry out the duties of the highest executive office in the land,' Weld said as he announced the launch of an exploratory committee at Politics & Eggs in Bedford, N.H. ... Weld's most recent foray into politics was a 2016 run for vice president on the Libertarian ticket alongside former presidential candidate and New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. By jumping in as the first Republican to challenge Trump's reelection, Weld is likely to draw attention." POLITICO

NICK JULIANO: "Judge revives lawsuit over casino blocked under Zinke": "The Mashantucket Pequot tribe has contended that the Interior Department acted illegally when the agency refused to sign off on its plans to open a new casino in partnership with the Mohegan Tribe. ... [T]he judge on Friday allowed the tribe to add new claims of political interference and refile the case. Allowing the case to proceed means Interior will have to produce an administrative record explaining its decision. ...

"That decision apparently was made at the 11th hour by Trump administration political appointees and contradicted the recommendations of career officials." POLITICO

THE INVESTIGATIONS ... "For defendants in special counsel crosshairs, path to justice starts in Judge Amy Berman Jackson's courtroom," by ABC's Allison Pecorin: "Jackson has become a low-key but recurring fixture of the special counsel investigation -- six of the 12 cases brought by Robert Mueller's team have had matters brought before her. And Courtroom 3 has been home to some of the most headline-grabbing moments in the special counsel's two-year investigation, with Jackson, a 2011 Obama appointee, serving as an imposing presence. ...

"[A]ttorneys said she is not viewed as particularly political. She was appointed by a Democrat but was formerly married to a George W. Bush administration official. And she has seen criminal law practiced from both sides of the courtroom. She served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia before transitioning to almost 20 years of private practice as a white collar defense attorney." ABC

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- Miles Taylor will be chief of staff at DHS, according to a forthcoming memo from Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to employees. Taylor, who assumes the role next week, is currently deputy chief of staff at DHS and was counselor/senior adviser to former DHS Secretary John Kelly. Current COS Chad Wolf was nominated Thursday to be undersecretary for strategy, policy and plans. Sam Kaplan, currently DHS' chief privacy officer, will be a deputy chief of staff for operations; Brandon Wales will serve as acting deputy chief of staff for policy. He previously was counselor.

PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION -- "The 100 Very Best Restaurants in Washington," by Washingtonian's Ann Limpert, Anna Spiegel, Jessica Sidman and Cynthia Hacinli: The top 10: "Minibar ... The Dabney ... The Inn at Little Washington ... Sushi Nakazawa ... Tail Up Goat ... Pineapple and Pearls ... Elle ... Komi ... Kinship ... Little Serow." Washingtonian

TV TONIGHT -- Bob Costa sits down with NYT's Julie Hirschfeld Davis, CNN's Abby Phillip, MSNBC's Garrett Haake and John Bresnahan on PBS' "Washington Week" at 8 p.m.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Jacqui Newman, COO at the DCCC, and Kevin McKeon, SVP at Putnam Partners and a DCCC alum, on Monday welcomed Cecilia Sutter McKeon at Sibley Hospital. "She came out smiling at 7lbs 13oz and just over 20 inches. Mom is happy and healthy ... and Cecilia is still smiling." Pic

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