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Presented by the BlueCross BlueShield Association: Feb 14, 2019 View in browser
By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, Daniel Lippman, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun

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THE LOWDOWN ... THE WHITE HOUSE was still reviewing the government funding bill as of this morning. The leg affairs team briefed the president in the 11 a.m. hour. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP tweeted at 12:27 p.m. that he was reviewing the bill with his team.

-- SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-IOWA) this morning: "Let's all pray that the president will have wisdom to sign the bill so government doesn't shut down."

THE SENATE will vote in the late afternoon on government funding. THE HOUSE comes in for votes at about 6:30 p.m., and expects a vote in the 9 p.m. hour.

RIGHT ON CUE ... NYT'S ANNIE KARNI (@anniekarni): "Pence hints at a national emergency declaration: 'I know the president is considering that as well as other authority he has as President of the United States to address what is a very real humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border.' via pooler @katierogers".

JOHN BOEHNER at John Dingell's funeral: Dingell was "truly a man of the House." NOTABLE ATTENDEES: President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Anita Dunn, Bart Stupak, Norm Mineta, Joe Crowley (who was spotted chatting with Phil Gingrey), Bart Gordon, Chet Edwards, Chris Dodd, Jim Slattery, Henry Waxman, Nick J. Rahall, Joel Jankowsky, Ziad Ojakli, Dan Glickman, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, John and Tony Podesta ...

... Gloria Dittus, Gordon Peterson, Sens. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Melissa Moss and Jonathan Silver, Betsy Fischer Martin and Jonathan Martin, Steve Elmendorf, Joe Barton, Liddy Dole, John Barrow, Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) ...

... Jamal Simmons, Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), Dale Kildee.

THE CROWD sang "America the Beautiful" as the casket was carried out.

Good Thursday afternoon. WOW -- NYT'S J. DAVID GOODMAN: "Amazon Pulls Out of Planned New York City Headquarters"

A.G. UPDATE -- "Senate Confirms William Barr as Attorney General," by NYT's Nick Fandos and Katie Benner

-- BARR will be sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts at the White House at 4:45 p.m. today.

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THE INVESTIGATIONS ... THE PRESIDENT TWEETS at 9:39 a.m.: "Disgraced FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe pretends to be a 'poor little Angel' when in fact he was a big part of the Crooked Hillary Scandal & the Russia Hoax -- a puppet for Leakin' James Comey. I.G. report on McCabe was devastating. Part of 'insurance policy' in case I won...."

... at 9:55 a.m.: "....Many of the top FBI brass were fired, forced to leave, or left. McCabe's wife received BIG DOLLARS from Clinton people for her campaign -- he gave Hillary a pass. McCabe is a disgrace to the FBI and a disgrace to our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

WHAT MCCABE SAID, via Caitlin Oprysko: "McCabe says he opened investigations into Trump to put Russia probe 'on solid ground'": "In an interview set to air Sunday on CBS's '60 Minutes,' McCabe told host Scott Pelley that he took the extraordinary step of opening the investigation in May 2017, almost immediately after he took over as acting director of the FBI in the wake of the president's move to fire former bureau Director James Comey. He said he wanted to ensure there was documentary evidence that the probe was underway in the event that he too was removed." POLITICO

-- CBS' "60 MINUTES": "'The most illuminating and surprising thing in the interview to me were these eight days in May when all of these things were happening behind the scenes that the American people really didn't know about,' Pelley said on the show.

"'There were meetings at the Justice Department at which it was discussed whether the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet could be brought together to remove the president of the United States under the 25th Amendment,' Pelley said. 'These were the eight days from Comey's firing to the point that Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel. And the highest levels of American law enforcement were trying to figure out what do with the president."

"Pelley said McCabe confirms in their interview that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein offered to wear a wire in meetings with President Trump. Previously, a Justice Department statement claimed that Rosenstein made the offer sarcastically, but McCabe said it was taken seriously." With 1:27 interview excerpt, CBS

-- CNN'S DEVAN COLE: "In a statement on Thursday, a Justice Department spokesperson said Rosenstein -- who repeatedly disputed the 'wire' revelation back in September -- again denied discussing the use of the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. 'As the Deputy Attorney General previously has stated, based on his personal dealings with the President, there is no basis to invoke the 25th Amendment, nor was the DAG in a position to consider invoking the 25th Amendment,' the statement read." CNN

-- ANDREW MCCABE in THE ATLANTIC: "Every Day Is a New Low in Trump's White House: The president steps over bright ethical and moral lines wherever he encounters them. Everyone in America saw it when he fired my boss. But I saw it firsthand time and time again." The Atlantic

THE LATEST IN VIRGINIA -- NYT'S JONATHAN MARTIN, JOHN ELIGON and CAMPBELL ROBERTSON in Richmond: "'He's Not There Yet': Embattled Governor Seeks Forgiveness From Black Virginians": "In the nearly two weeks since his governorship was upended by revelations that he had a racist photo on his medical school yearbook page, Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia has scrambled to rebuild his image among black Virginians. It is an effort that has hit a few bumps and may or may not be successful at winning over a constituency that heavily backed him during his campaign. ...

"As reality sets in that the governor has no intention of resigning, many of those who have expressed fury at him are now focused on how the scandal might prompt policy changes for black communities. There is anything but business as usual in the capital." NYT

ANDREW DESIDERIO: "Lawmakers demand Nielsen punish top DHS official": "The Department of Homeland Security's top watchdog is recommending that the agency's chief Kirstjen Nielsen punish a top official who is refusing to cooperate with the department's inspector general as part of a high-profile retaliation probe, according to a memo released Thursday by a trio of congressional Democrats.

"The Democrats - House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel, House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings, and Senate Foreign Relations Ranking Member Bob Menendez - are demanding that Nielsen follow the inspector general's recommendation to discipline Christine Ciccone, the assistant secretary for legislative affairs." POLITICO

WAR REPORT -- "Shanahan: U.S. will not unilaterally withdraw from Afghanistan," by AP's Lorne Cook and Robert Burns in Brussels: "'There will be no unilateral troop reductions,' Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan told reporters after his first meeting with NATO defense chiefs. 'That was one of the messages: It will be coordinated. We're together.' ...

"Shanahan made clear that if U.S. troop cuts are made, either in connection with peace negotiations with the Taliban or in other circumstances, Washington will consult with NATO to ensure coordination." AP

-- NYT'S CHARLIE SAVAGE and ERIC SCHMITT: "Trump's Syria Withdrawal Order Forces Allies to Weigh Return of ISIS Detainees"

ANNIE SNIDER: "EPA chemical plan stops short of regulating, but promises decision this year": "The [EPA] released a plan Thursday to deal with a class of toxic chemicals found in 98 percent of Americans' blood, but offered no guarantee of the agency will enact enforceable drinking water regulations for the two best-studied compounds.

"Instead, the plan commits to make a formal decision on whether to set a limit under the Safe Drinking Water Act, called a Maximum Contaminant Level, or MCL, by the end of the year, Assistant Administrator for Water Dave Ross said on a call with reporters Thursday. That deadline was added after POLITICO reported last month that a draft of the plan did not include a drinking water limit, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the changes." POLITICO

ON THE WORLD STAGE -- POLITICO EUROPE'S DAVID HERSZENHORN in Warsaw, Poland: "Pence demands EU powers abandon Iran nuclear deal": "U.S. Vice President Mike Pence had a blunt message Thursday for EU powers on the Iran nuclear deal: Get out now, and get on America's side.

"Breaking from his prepared text to slam allies for sticking with the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Pence used his speech at a U.S.-sponsored conference on the Middle East to demand that France, Germany and the United Kingdom abandon the accord and stop trying to break American sanctions. ... Pence's forthright demand sets the Trump administration up for a similarly blunt rebuff from EU powers, who have repeatedly stated they are committed to the deal despite Washington's withdrawal." POLITICO Europe

-- MORE FROM DAVID in Warsaw: "U.S. to present Mideast peace plan after Israeli vote, Jared Kushner says": "The United States will put forward a Middle East peace plan after an Israeli general election on April 9, Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser told officials at a Middle East conference on Thursday.

"Ministers who took part in a closed-door session with Kushner at the conference in Warsaw said he told them that Israelis and Palestinians would each have to compromise. A number of nations chose to boycott the U.S.-sponsored conference including Russia, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority, raising serious questions about whether the Trump administration will have the credibility to gain any momentum for a peace proposal." POLITICO Europe

-- OREGONIAN'S SHANE KAVANAUGH: "Feds launch investigation into disappearance of Saudi students facing U.S. charges"

TRADE WARS -- BLOOMBERG: "U.S.-China Trade Teams Far Apart on Reform Demands, Sources Say"

2020 WATCH -- "The Ocasio-Cortez Effect: Wave of Challenges Hits Entrenched N.Y. Democrats," by NYT's Shane Goldmacher: "The coming New York uprising could result in a series of races that lay bare some of the same generational, racial, gender and ideological cleavages expected to define the 2020 presidential primary. ... In Manhattan, Jerrold Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, could be challenged, just as a California billionaire pressures him to move to impeach President Trump.

"On Long Island, a [DNC] member is making noises about taking on Tom Suozzi. In Brooklyn, a rematch is in the works in what was one of the nation's closest primaries in 2018. And in the Bronx and Westchester, some progressives are pushing to unseat Eliot L. Engel, a white congressman who represents a diversifying district where white residents are now in the minority - just like where Ms. Ocasio-Cortez won." NYT

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -- "EPA's Top Leaders Stymied Research Unit, Report Finds," by WSJ's Heidi Vogt: "The unit, known as the Integrated Risk Information System, or IRIS, is responsible for identifying dangers from chemicals in products such as paint and pesticides, and releasing assessments of their potential threats to human health.

"A draft Government Accountability Office report found that 'the IRIS program has been unable to release any work since June 2018 while it was waiting for feedback from the Administrator's office,' according to a copy reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The GAO is a nonpartisan federal auditing agency that provides information to Congress." WSJ

-- PROPUBLICA'S DEREK KRAVITZ: "The Lobbying Swamp Is Flourishing in Trump's Washington: At least 33 former officials - including ex-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke - have found ways to sidestep the administration's ethics pledge. Of those, at least 18 are now registered federal lobbyists and the rest work in jobs that closely resemble lobbying." ProPublica

BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- "In Need of Workers, the Midwest Recruits From Puerto Rico," by WSJ's Erin Ailworth and Arian Campo-Flores in Sidney, Ohio: "Tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans have fled the U.S. territory's struggling economy in recent years. While they mostly concentrate in traditional landing spots like New York and Florida, a number are venturing to the Midwest, where jobs in many places are more plentiful than people. ...

"In the past decade, Puerto Rico has lost roughly half a million people as its economy deteriorated, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. ... A number were drawn by employers that stepped up recruiting in Puerto Rico after finding it hard to secure workers locally or via the H-2B visa program that allows immigrants to work temporarily in the U.S. in nonagricultural jobs." WSJ

MEDIAWATCH -- CNN's Jim Sciutto is writing a book titled "The Shadow War: Inside Russia's and China's Secret Operations to Defeat America" ($27.01 on Amazon). It will be published by HarperCollins on May 14.

SPOTTED: Paul Begala on the 8:30 a.m. United flight in seat 1E from Dulles to Las Vegas.

SPOTTED at a book party for Chris Christie's "Let Me Finish" on Wednesday night at the home of David Bradley ($16.80 on Amazon): David Brooks, Margaret Carlson, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jane Mayer, Maureen Dowd, Carl Hulse, Mark Leibovich, Mike Duffy, E.J. Dionne, Heather Podesta, Gloria Dittus, Steve Clemons, Jeff Goldberg, Pam Reeves, Fred Hiatt, Corey Lewandowski, Michael Steele and George Will.

ENGAGED -- Michael Holley, WH liaison for DHS, proposed to Lauren Weber, special assistant in the bureau for democracy, conflict, and humanitarian assistance at USAID and a Trump WH alum. The couple met at the 2016 Republican National Convention, and he proposed at the Capitol. Pic by Al Drago ... Another pic

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