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Today's POLITICO Playbook presented by PhRMA

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
CAPITAL WEATHER GANG: "On Wednesday, 80 degrees isn't even out of the question ... If D.C. hits 80 Wednesday, it will be the earliest calendar year occurrence of 80 degrees in recorded history. There is also some chance that the low temperature Wednesday, potentially lingering above 60 degrees, is the warmest ever observed during February." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d2070648fe6728397933c7e2df11f5a7f878be42891e538dd06bbeeaf7a3dfd1f19de437dbf825223bd

Good Wednesday morning. INSIDE REPUBLICANS' THINKING ON GUNS ...

AFTER EVERY TRAGEDY, Washington plunges into a discussion about entering into what many believe to be a common-sense debate: should Congress enact tougher regulations on guns?

THIS DEBATE NEVER GETS OFF THE GROUND. We spoke with several senior Republican aides and lawmakers yesterday afternoon so we could explain the dynamics. We're not adopting these positions -- we're merely trying to explain what Republicans would say if put on truth serum:

MANY REPUBLICANS FEEL LIKE THEY GO HOME to their safely red district and interact with constituents who are gun-toting NRA members -- many of whom show up to barbecues, fundraisers and political events carrying a weapon. Multiple Republicans told us they have held events at high-end shooting ranges. Gabe Debenedetti: "AR-15 auction removed from McMorris Rodgers fundraiser" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d20013dba62d5bd18f81787cd5066c1ab98e988ffb263e2d512ea6756ad66eb7088f2b268f3a818f2f7

FORGET THE MONEY that the NRA gives -- it's relatively inconsequential compared to other industries, and it's a lazy explanation for the position that many Republicans hold. But many GOP voters exist in a media environment where they read the NRA's magazines, pay attention to their scorecards come election time and wonder if the long arm of the U.S. government will come get their guns.

MOST REPUBLICANS exist in a climate in which their only political fear is a primary challenger on the right. To these Republicans, national polls mean squat. Getting on the "wrong side" of the gun issue would be going soft on guns -- that's the way to lose a primary election. Few of these Republicans believe they'll lose an election by not supporting stringent gun regulations.

CONSIDER THIS: In the House -- the more conservative of the two bodies -- 36 lawmakers sit in seats that elect Republicans by an average of 20 points or more. If you start looking wobbly there on any core issue -- which lawmakers say is immigration, abortion and gun rights -- you could be looking for a new job.

THEN THERE'S THEIR ARGUMENT that new gun laws wouldn't do much. Ban assault weapons? Well there are plenty on the streets now. And if you ban assault weapons and someone shoots up a school with a pistol, then what's next? Will the government move to make pistols illegal. How about tightening background checks? Many Republicans will tell you the laws in place now aren't being enforced as they should be. Why add new regulations?

THERE IS A CLEAR SPLIT AMONG TOP REPUBLICANS WE TALK TO. Many believe this shooting is a tipping point. Others say, "eh." Remember, Republicans didn't do anything after one of their own - House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) - was shot. And in 2011, they did nothing when Gabby Giffords -- then a member of the House -- was shot in the head meeting constituents outside a supermarket.

OF COURSE, DEMOCRATS SAY all of this is lazy and morally reprehensible. Doing something, they say, is better than nothing. And public sentiment will catch up with the GOP, they say.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP says he is going to move to tighten regulations on so-called bump stocks -- a mechanism by which one can turn a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic weapon.

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH ... MANY REPUBLICANS we spoke to believe the media has lost all objectivity on the issue of gun control.

WSJ ED BOARD: "Better Background Gun Checks: One way to help keep guns from the ill and dangerous": "Texas Senator John Cornyn's 'Fix NICS' bill would require every federal agency to outline how it will ensure that relevant information gets to NICS; penalize federal agencies that fail by stripping appointees of potential bonuses; encourage states to maintain background databases to inform NICS; and beef up reporting on domestic violence.

"The bill would tighten an imperfect background-check system and is supported by the National Rifle Association, police associations and the White House. The House passed the legislation last year, but it also added a provision requiring reciprocity for owners of concealed firearm permits across state lines. Democrats oppose the reciprocity provision, which can't pass the Senate.

"Republicans would be wise to let that reciprocity provision die and send a clean Fix-NICS bill to the Senate. The House can throw in a ban on so-called bump stocks, which let an AR-15 rifle fire more rapidly. That also has bipartisan support, and President Trump on Tuesday directed the Justice Department to propose a regulation banning bump stocks." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d2013d75bc793cb738bbf582440724f274004d35bd782447063482dbc847a9c2d4551a38d074d5df7ba

THE BIG PICTURE -- ELIANA JOHNSON and RACHAEL BADE: "It wasn't by accident that both of the president's moves - authorizing a crackdown on 'bump stocks' and signaling support for a stronger background check system - are backed by the NRA. But they would allow Trump, who spent much of the last weekend at Mar-a-Lago watching cable news coverage of the aftermath of the shooting, to say he's taking action.

"It will be a high-wire act for the president in the best-case scenario: Pacifying gun-control advocates without stirring up his core supporters. Even if he manages to pull it off - gun-control advocates will never be satisfied with the background checks bill the White House is getting behind - he'll have to contend with Republicans in Congress who want to loosen gun control laws, not strengthen them." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d20a9b51395dcc7ce7d13142660776ae16cd652e23995250a508086c98bec7d34a0756baa3b0b679f2c

THE MICROCOSM ... AP/TALLAHASSEE: "Less than a week after 17 people were fatally shot at a Florida high school, the state House has voted down a motion to take up a bill that would ban assault rifles, effectively killing the measure for this session.

"The motion failed by a 36-71 vote. As the Florida House opened its session Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Kionne McGhee asked for a procedural move that would have allowed it to consider a bill to ban assault rifles and large capacity magazines. The bill had been assigned to three committees but was not scheduled for a hearing. The committees won't meet again before the legislative session ends March 9."

MARC CAPUTO on the NRA, from MIAMI: "Gov. Rick Scott, who won both of his terms in office with NRA support and has signed a passel of gun-rights legislation, says that 'everything's on the table' - though he's giving away no details.

"Agriculture Commissioner and former Rep. Adam Putnam, who's running to succeed Scott, refused to say whether he would still describe himself as a 'proud NRA sellout' on Tuesday night, walking away from a POLITICO reporter.

"Chances are slim that Florida Republicans will offer any major concessions on gun rights, which they see as key to their electoral success. And gun-rights advocates say the NRA and other groups like Florida Carry are ready to become active as soon as they see legislation they can comment on. But strikingly, Florida Democrats running for federal and statewide office feel empowered for the first time to seriously campaign on the issue of gun control." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d2003aab0210d635b10a470e761682a71e6a07c36a0b4ad53cd613c63a33f00d049301d8065a2b3ceac


****** A message from PhRMA: New report from Express Scripts shows spending on medicines grew just 1.5 percent in 2017, which is the smallest increase since the company began tracking spending 25 years ago. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d20c7d5d9a96161789d7b996ff38fb69c4e2b85f8101b315919ce3ca535c85ff5df8879e8fcafd85e9c ******

A NEW ATTACK -- NYT'S MIKE GRYNBAUM: "Right-Wing Media Uses Parkland Shooting as Conspiracy Fodder": "[I]n certain right-wing corners of the web - and, increasingly, from more mainstream voices like Rush Limbaugh and a commentator on CNN - the students are being portrayed not as grief-ridden survivors but as pawns and conspiracists intent on exploiting a tragedy to undermine the nation's laws.

"In these baseless accounts, ... the students are described as 'crisis actors,' who travel to the sites of shootings to instigate fury against guns. Or they are called F.B.I. plants, defending the bureau for its failure to catch the shooter. They have been portrayed as puppets being coached and manipulated by the Democratic Party, gun control activists, the so-called antifa movement and the left-wing billionaire George Soros." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d2082d366de90bb3e76c4a0e646375a8833f4fe6d69d3c37ad9f88d795aa3e1cf15f81d015cd82db127

-- TAMPA BAY TIMES' Alex Leary and Kirby Wilson: "[T]he conspiracy climbed to a new level when an aide to state Rep. Shawn Harrison, R-Tampa, was fired after emailing a Tampa Bay Times reporter with a stunning assertion: 'Both kids in the picture are not students here but actors that travel to various crisis when they happen.'

"Benjamin Kelly referred to a picture attached to a Times story, posted online hours earlier, about how Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students were drawing attacks for their outspokenness. The picture showed David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez speaking on CNN.

"Asked for backup to his claim, Kelly sent another email -- again from his myfloridahouse.gov account -- that included a link to a conspiracy video on YouTube. The video showed Hogg in a news clip from California over a dispute with a lifeguard involving a boogie board. Hogg had posted a video of the confrontation with the lifeguard on YouTube and it 'went viral,' a news reporter said. Now, conspiracy theorists have questioned what Hogg was doing in another state, some branding him a 'crisis actor.'

"Reached by phone in Tallahassee, Rep. Harrison told a reporter he was looking into the matter and that the email should not have been sent. Not long after, he released a statement: 'I was just made aware that my aide made an insensitive and inappropriate allegation about Parkland students today. I have spoken to him and placed him on leave until we determine an appropriate course of action. I do not share his opinion and he did so without my knowledge.' Kelly, 61, was subsequently fired by House Speaker Richard Corcoran, who oversees all House employees." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d2052bf6febb924ec8caff034fd5610bded87d82ea68774699ae94e6b8dba933a8ac799e6e549348629

CLOSE TO HOME ... WAPO'S DAN MORSE: "Police in Maryland found an AR-15 styled rifle, a shotgun, two handguns, ammunition and a tactical vest in the home of an 18-year-old honor roll student who police say last week brought a loaded 9mm handgun to school, authorities said Tuesday.

"Officers also discovered that the suspect -- Alwin Chen, a student at Clarksburg High School in Montgomery County -- had previously brought the same handgun to school and had compiled a 'list of grievances against students in the school,' Montgomery Assistant State's Attorney Frank Lazzaro said.

"He termed the list 'possibly a motive for why he was going to use the gun.' The precise motive and overall thinking of Chen remained unclear Tuesday. Detectives and prosecutors continue to probe the case." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d2032528a69a3d59eb9de83e4b4088fe2dfb1b691013cf7dfc9a18403090ed4b6616a84371e9ace834b

VERY SMART POINT -- NPR'S SUE DAVIS (@DaviSusan): "A thought on 17 yo's: It strikes me how unique their generation is: Born & raised in the 9/11 era, into a nation at war their entire lives, and already witnessed 19 of 33 deadliest shootings in America since WWII. Must shape/be shaping worldviews in ways we don't fully grasp yet."

TRUMP'S OBAMA COMPLEX -- WAPO'S PHIL RUCKER and ASHLEY PARKER: "Trump's 'tougher on Russia' claim fits a pattern of striving to one-up Obama": "To hear President Trump tell it, he is tougher than former president Barack Obama. He is smarter than Obama -- more shrewd, more effective, more respected. The 45th president is, by his own accounting, superlative to the 44th in almost every way.

"In private and in public, while devising policies and while crafting messages, Trump frequently draws flattering comparisons with his predecessor -- and he does not let the truth intrude, as was the case Tuesday. 'I have been much tougher on Russia than Obama, just look at the facts,' Trump tweeted. The facts suggest the opposite, as Trump has repeatedly doubted the conclusions of his own U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the election and has sought to undermine the FBI's investigation of the matter." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d2039e6969b62b0802698296de2435b47ff913d374a1509e1a1b10037c6d8f4ad88aa23e238c7e57a95

THE SPECIAL ONE, via NYT's Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Maggie Haberman on A19: "Kushner Resists Losing Access as Kelly Tackles Security Clearance Issues": "Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, is resisting giving up his access to highly classified information, prompting an internal struggle with John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, over who should be allowed to see some of the nation's most sensitive secrets, according to White House officials and others briefed on the matter. ...

"Mr. Kushner, frustrated about the security clearance issue and concerned that Mr. Kelly has targeted him personally with the directive, has told colleagues at the White House that he is reluctant to give up his high-level access ...

"Mr. Kelly, who has been privately dismissive of Mr. Kushner since taking the post of chief of staff but has rarely taken him on directly, has made no guarantees, saying only that the president's son-in-law will still have all the access he needs to do his job under the new system. ...

"Mr. Kushner and [Ivanka] Trump have been critical of Mr. Kelly in conversations with the president, who spent the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., surveying people about whether he should fire his chief of staff. However, since [Rob] Porter's departure, one official said, Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump have told people around the White House that they have been vocal in their attempts to defend Mr. Kelly but are being treated unfairly in return." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d20b3fcab59c99b1b26ba4618b984942b70d873eb474e9dffd96e1b00847c1670e75e7fcec6998b6b23

SCOOP -- WAPO'S ASHLEY PARKER: "Pence was set to meet with North Korean officials during the Olympics before last-minute cancellation": "Vice President Pence departed for a five-day, two-country swing through Asia earlier this month having agreed to a secret meeting with North Korean officials while in South Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. But on Feb. 10, less than two hours before Pence and his team were to meet with Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and Kim Yong Nam, North Korea's nominal head of state, the North Koreans pulled out of the scheduled meeting, according to Pence's office." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d20076f6c9346cf3831c12265bf781e67b7fb94bba9970f9d2219e6e0c1a38c94089ee9b459c45f25dd

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -- "Shulkin says he has White House backing to purge VA," by Arthur Allen: "The White House has given VA Secretary David Shulkin the green light to quash an internal rebellion among conservative foes of his leadership, he told POLITICO late Tuesday. The embattled Cabinet head said he'd begun investigating what he called 'subversion' at the agency, and those who have defied his authority 'won't be working in my operation.'

"Shulkin's new chief of staff, Peter O' Rourke, is meeting with each staffer suspected of defying Shulkin 'individually and as a group to determine, now that there is a clear direction where we are going, where people are going to stand,' he said. 'Those who crossed the line in the past are going to have to be accountable for those decisions.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d20d832f8ee07c3188b8082d4b6b29b17a679e467a57b19597a29915152f888b8ccc29d881a4b57db89

-- YOU'RE GOOD FOR NOW, DAVE: "VA chief Shulkin's job is safe, White House says, unless 'other stuff comes out,'" by WaPo's Emily Wax-Thibodeaux, Lisa Rein and Josh Dawsey: "White House officials have told Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin that his job is safe, according to people familiar with the matter who indicated Tuesday that President Trump decided to 'stomach the story' about Shulkin's alleged misuse of taxpayer money during a 10-day trip to Europe. The president's decision was communicated to Shulkin by White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, according to an administration official ... Trump 'personally likes Shulkin,' the official said, cautioning, however, that 'if other
stuff comes out, this could change, but for now, he's safe.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d2079a21d2116f1d6ef018de9b7b8a2fc40142b0e8089c1c06c55bac7b0c8b79d376ed973cd0b77ffb4

-- "Senior HHS official placed on leave for promoting unfounded claims and conspiracy theories on social media," by CNN's Andrew Kaczynski and Nathan McDermott: "Jon Cordova serves as the principal deputy assistant secretary for administration at HHS. A KFile review of Cordova's social media accounts found that he pushed stories filled with baseless claims and conspiracy theories, including stories that claimed Gold Star father Khizr Khan is a 'Muslim Brotherhood agent' and made baseless claims about Sen. Ted Cruz's personal life." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d20d2c7d45f39a2afae411e247bbb80a5d8943a93de003921b4745a6d8751de15d89d7b0f87d2169bc9

THE RUSSIA REPORT ...

-- "On Social Media, Lax Enforcement Lets Impostor Accounts Thrive," by NYT's Nick Confessore and Gabriel J.X. Dance: "Millions of accounts impersonating real people roam social media platforms, promoting commercial products and celebrities, attacking political candidates and sowing discord. They spread fake images and misinformation about the school shooting last week in Parkland, Fla.

"They were central to Russian attempts to sway the 2016 presidential election ... Yet social media companies often fail to vigorously enforce their own policies against impersonation, an examination by The New York Times found, enabling the spread of fake news and propaganda - and allowing a global black market in social identities to thrive on their platforms. Facebook and Twitter require proof of identity to shut down an impostor account but none to set one up." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d20bfac2e97da7599412770e47344dde5e0e841eac4f4ac8200f530c0923a28b08b06595b4ed0c72834

-- "Russian Trolls Tweeted Disinformation Long Before U.S. Election," by WSJ's Rob Barry: "Alice Norton posted an emergency message on a cooking-website forum on Thanksgiving 2015: Her entire family had severe food poisoning after buying a turkey from Walmart. 'My son Robert got in the hospital and he's still there,' wrote Ms. Norton, who had described herself as a 31-year-old New York City mother of two. ...

"Within hours, Twitter users repeated the claim thousands of times, and a news story was published saying 200 people were in critical condition after eating tainted turkey. The catch? No outbreak of food poisoning matching this description occurred, according to New York City health officials. ...

"In fact, many of the claims came from accounts linked to a pro-Kremlin propaganda agency charged by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office last week for meddling in U.S. politics. Security experts now believe the early posts, and others like them, may have been practice for a bigger target: the 2016 U.S. election." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d20de766bb84dc4304144724475941f2ce2678ab6978cbae5e27856dfe21703ed66cf7a68024269c4d8

-- PER CALIFORNIA PLAYBOOK: "CA Rep. Adam Schiff spoke at sold-out events in both Sacramento and the Commonwealth Club of California Tuesday, and sat down with POLITICO Tuesday in SF. We asked him about the report by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney that CA Rep. Devin Nunes' wants to build a wall, literally, to separate Dems and Reps in House Intel Committee, purportedly to contains leaks ...

"'One of the things I've really treasured about our (House Intel) committee is that our staff all sit together, our staff work together ... the Russia investigation has made that difficult, but ... the non-Russia-related work has continued in a very non-partisan way. So the wall is a terrible idea.' Schiff, with a smile: 'Plus, Mexico will never pay for it. Though I suspect if they did build the wall in our committee, it will be the only wall Trump ever gets built.'"

BEHIND THE NUMBERS ... BIGGEST JANUARY DONOR: NRCC: Trevor Ahlberg, payday lender ($33,900) ... SENATE MAJORITY PAC (supports Senate Dems): Hedge fund tycoon James Simons ($1.5 million) ... CLUB FOR GROWTH ACTION: Richard Uihlein ($3.5 million) ... DCCC: Hedge funder Donald Sussman ($203,400) ...

-- AMAZING: Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus gave John Bolton's PAC $200,000. Bolton did not give a dime to any candidate last month. He spent $32,025 on fundraising consulting and $28,800 on "survey research."

BURGESS EVERETT -- "Coming soon: Another showdown over Dreamers in Congress": "The next immigration battle might be right around the corner.

"The Senate's protracted debate last week deadlocked with a predictable flurry of finger-pointing and insults. But the chamber will likely reprise the fight ahead of the next and presumably final deadline to avoid another government shutdown on March 23.

"A must-pass, roughly $1.3 trillion spending bill may be the last chance before the midterm elections for the two parties to achieve their top immigration-related priorities: protecting Dreamers from deportation or build President Donald Trump's border wall. Whether they can succeed after their repeated failures is anyone's guess, but they're expected to try.

"One possibility would be a scaled-down compromise that would extend protections for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants for an additional three years in exchange for three years of wall funding. That would punt the decision on a permanent fix past Trump's first term as president. Other potential scenarios are an even shorter fix for the Dreamers, or, given the chamber's track record, no deal at all." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d2067118e30360c49b728a4c2a3d958d6b45939d6649d7432b5fc35f6885d5cb3e67a04e4e709a85e5f

TRUMP'S WEDNESDAY -- The president will meet with the Council of Economic Advisers this morning. He is having lunch with SBA Administrator Linda McMahon. In the afternoon he is meeting with union leaders and will hold a listening session with high school teachers and students.

VP MIKE PENCE is in Florida, at the Kennedy Space Center. He'll join the president at the afternoon session with high schoolers.


Playbook Reads


PHOTO DU JOUR: Sheryl Acquarola, a 16 year-old junior from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, is overcome with emotion in the east gallery of the Florida state House of Representatives after representatives voted not to hear a bill banning assault rifles and large capacity magazines at the state capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. on Feb 20. | Mark Wallheiser/AP Photo

CONGRESSIONAL RECESS READ ... STEVE SHEPARD with the new POLITICO/MORNING CONSULT POLL: "Poll: Few voters report seeing bigger paychecks after tax changes": "Just a quarter of registered voters, 25 percent, say they have noticed an increase in their paycheck, the poll shows. A majority, 51 percent, say they have not.

"Among employed voters -- those working in the private and public sectors, plus those who are self-employed -- a larger percentage, 37 percent, have noticed an uptick on their pay stubs. But 53 percent say they haven't. Self-identified Republicans are more likely to say they have seen a larger paycheck under the new law (32 percent) than Democrats (21 percent) or independents (22 percent)." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d20ff73785d84d60b4b537e011d77d26d8d75ae28ce0fe441fb4b1cde1d4bc99750fd5a836ea5045ab6

ANNA DEAVERE SMITH (AKA as Nancy McNally on 'The West Wing' for many of our readers) sat down with ANNA to talk about her social justice work, art in the Trump era, and her work with Shonda Rhimes in the latest "Women Rule" podcast. Listen to the podcast http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d20afc587454d4126e565bfa591805359bcb8b78ea306908c63ce43e0e7f05228e272ffb429c998a89e

RENTERIA SPEAKS -- "Ex-Clinton aide reveals why she made mystery bid for California governor," by California Playbooker David Siders in Los Angeles: "Amanda Renteria, the former top Hillary Clinton campaign aide whose mysterious late entry into the California gubernatorial race befuddled political observers, said Tuesday she is seeking to change 'the culture of politics' and its fixation on money with her insurgent campaign.

"Distinguishing herself from two of several high-profile Democrats who have already raised millions of dollars for the contest -- Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa -- Renteria told POLITICO, 'I'm very different than they are, right? Whether it's the way I launched my campaign, whether it's that I have been the girl doing the work.'

"Renteria, a former aide to Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Debbie Stabenow, said, 'A lot of career folks talk about the idea of the politician versus the public service folks, and the politicians are the ones who are doing all the talking ... There is a big difference when you're sitting there and you've got to figure out how do I ... execute on this vision.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d2010700caf9106a369a473ad83fafcbea533c4ce375e84486dc282b30d32486891aea6fec7a61d5e37


****** A message from PhRMA: Middlemen, like PBMs and insurers, have been shifting more of the costs of your health care to you for years - with deductibles increasing 300% since 2006. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d20c7d5d9a96161789d7b996ff38fb69c4e2b85f8101b315919ce3ca535c85ff5df8879e8fcafd85e9c ******

A CASE FOR TRUMP TO TALK TO MUELLER -- "How Trump Could End Up Diminishing His Own Power," by Asha Rangappa in POLITICO Magazine: "So far, all signs have pointed to Trump's refusing the interview request, which would almost certainly force [Robert] Mueller to issue a grand jury subpoena to compel the president to talk. If this comes to pass, and the president refuses to comply with such a subpoena, the country will be in unchartered constitutional territory, and the courts will need to intervene. But history shows that when courts intervene because a president is trying to shield his own conduct, the deck is stacked against him. If Trump isn't careful, he will end up shrinking his own
authority-and diminishing the presidency for years to come." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d2039fc8f233eaff6a1a6429adc41ea43dc865cc91cb079ab63a9a8c0bea623b4381430fcb19f1387f2

MEDIAWATCH -- CNN'S HADAS GOLD: "Newsweek publishes critical piece on company after staffers threaten to resign": http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d201b4b63373ad8c68f695ff3d5c475a6358d5c61182917250e5cc8977845d651ff285b66c7c198ed61

LATE NIGHT BEST -- SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-N.Y.) interviewed by Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show": 10-min. video http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d20554d8e4fd72072fc29daa8015dd515db3bb915a86de3cd055f5a1e4c77d6a0463198374288ffd699

Playbookers
SPOTTED at a reception last night at Uber's D.C. HQ to welcome Danielle Burr, head of federal relations (pic of Burr, Malcom Glenn, David Sanger and Marty Reiser http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d205d9b32bfa69dd414df48a0a3fc8881f10042232b8ada4d48e65128768ad1ab41982ebbabc45a8b4f Justin Kintz, Todd Inman, Grover Norquist, Yebbie Watkins, Sage Peterson, Tess Glancey, Rick Klein, Craig Gordon, Steve Clemons, Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Tammy Haddad, Tom Forrest, Kevin Cirilli, Carl Cannon, Geoff Burr, Steve Hartell, Molly Levinson, Stephanie Cutter, Lisa Barclay, Ron Bonjean, Kathy O'Hearn, Lachlan Markay, Tony Romm, Zach Graves, Tom Hoare, Todd Brewer, Raj Naik, Jeff Solnet, Emily Beyer, Tom Manatos, and Meredith Balenske.

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Edelman's Ashkon Eslami

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Paul Teller, special assistant to the president for legislative affairs. A fun fact about Paul: "Most people are surprised to learn that I'm a little bit of an art/art history guy. During undergrad at Duke, I took five art history courses -- four of those modern art. And the Duke professor with whom I most often keep in touch is the one who taught those modern art classes. ... [One] thing we'll be doing on my birthday weekend will be visiting The National Museum of Women in the Arts -- my choice! It's been awhile, so I am curious to check it out." Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d20c505aab009c95f8e68dde71f7843455874542aabd03718f3de9deeba4d0778c647fc7fcdefc8d903

BIRTHDAYS: AP's Mark Smith ... Bob Sherman (dad to Corey, Kate and Jake, poppy to Ryder) ... Rebeccah Propp, deputy director of communications for Vice President Pence ... Whitney Majorsky ... Jeremy Gaines, managing director for public affairs and crisis at Burson-Marsteller and alum of Gannett, MSNBC and the Clinton White House (h/t Ben Chang) ... David Sherzer (h/t Peter Watkins) ... Kevin Sheridan, founder of Sheridan Media Group and a Romney-Ryan and RNC alum ... Kristie Greco ... Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) is 78 ... Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) is 6-0 ... Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.) is 54 ... Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.) is 48 ... former Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) is 71 ... former
Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) is 62 ... former Rep. Phil Hare (D-Ill.) is 69 ... Tricia Nixon Cox is 72 ... film/music company executive David Geffen is 75 ... Stan Collender, Qorvis' EVP and national director of financial comms. ... Mark Kelly and his twin brother Scott, both former astronauts ... Ryan Rudominer of R2 Strategic Consulting, a DCCC alum, is 4-0 ... Reuters' Ross Colvin ... Elise Lewis, Deep Root Analytics senior director and Romney alum (h/t Jackson) ... Rodney Kazibwe is 26 ... Tori Bell ...

... Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, is 5-0 ... Yale President Peter Salovey is 6-0 ... Jonathan Safran Foer is 41 ... James Callan ... Shawn Reinschmiedt, co-founder and principal at M Street Insight (h/ts Blain Rethmeier and Dan Comstock) ... Sarah Beisler, manager of special projects for U.S. Programs at Save the Children and a Wake Forest alum (h/t Allie Wright) ... Ashley Etienne, comms director and senior adviser for Leader Pelosi ... Politico alums Terry Mulcahy and NanHee Kim ... Mitchell Delk ... Karl Frisch, executive director of Allied Progress, is 4-0 ... Lee Powell, video reporter at The Washington Post and formerly of AP
Washington's bureau (h/t Ieva Augstums) ... Beth Viola, senior policy advisor at Holland & Knight who co-chairs the firm's energy team and is a Clinton/Gore alum (h/t Jon Haber) ... AFP's Paul Raymond is 3-5 ... Stephen Smith, managing director at Purple Strategies ... Joyce Wolf ... Jeong Lee ... Ivan Villegas ... Michelle Cordero, managing editor of Heritage.org ... Bob Chlopak, founding partner of CLS Strategies (h/t Teresa Vilmain)

****** A message from PhRMA: While spending on medicines grew just 1.5 percent in 2017, unfortunately it doesn't feel that way for patients. More than one-third of a medicine's list price is often rebated back to middlemen, like insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). These discounts and rebates create savings of more than $100 billion, but insurers don't always share these savings with patients. Patients share the costs. They should share the savings. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7aab20bc86211d20c7d5d9a96161789d7b996ff38fb69c4e2b85f8101b315919ce3ca535c85ff5df8879e8fcafd85e9c ******

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