| | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | | |  Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited East Palestine, Ohio, this morning, where he admitted he could have responded to the train derailment sooner. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images | BUTTIGIEG IN OHIO — Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG surveyed the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, this morning — a visit that comes a day after former President DONALD TRUMP took a trip through the area. Buttigieg in remarks near the site admitted that, in hindsight, he waited too long to address the situation, echoing a statement he gave to CBS this week. “What I tried to do is balance two things: My desire to be involved and engaged and on the ground — which is how I’m generally wired to act — and my desire to follow the norm of Transportation secretaries, allowing NTSB to really lead the initial stages of the public-facing work. I’ll do some thinking about whether I got that balance right, but I think the most important thing is first of all making sure the residents here have what they need,” Buttigieg said this morning. Behind the scenes: “Buttigieg world frustrated at GOP attacks over train wreck,” by Adam Wren and Tanya Snyder The latest news: “Overheating wheel detected too late to stop Ohio train before it derailed,” by Tanya Snyder: “According to the report, before it derailed, the train passed three detectors intended to alert train crew to physical problems, including overheating wheels. Though the train detectors showed one of the wheels was steadily getting hotter, it did not reach a temperature Norfolk Southern considered critical until it passed the third detector and alerted, as outlined by the National Transportation Safety Board.” POLL POSITION — “Schiff, Porter in tight race to replace Sen. Feinstein, poll shows; others trail far behind,” by L.A. Times’ Benjamin Oreskes: “About 4 in 10 registered Democrats and nonpartisan voters in the survey said they hadn’t made up their minds on a candidate, so the race still has plenty of room to shift between now and the March 2024 primary.” Reps. ADAM SCHIFF and KATIE PORTER lead the pack with 22% and 20% support, respectively, followed by Rep. BARBARA LEE with 6% and Rep. RO KHANNA with 4%. TRUMP’S SLIPPING GRIP — WaPo is up with a six-bylined look at the state of Trump’s hold over the Republican Party as the former president mounts a reelection bid despite calls and concerns from within the GOP about his leadership. “The MAGA vs. RINO dichotomy that defined the GOP for much of the last eight years is increasingly obsolete,” Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey, Hannah Knowles, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Patrick Marley and Ashley Parker write. “In its place, a new dynamic emerged from interviews with more than 150 Trump supporters across five pivotal electoral states. In between Republicans who remain firmly committed or opposed to the former president, there’s now a broad range of Trump supporters who, however much they still like him, aren’t sure they want him as the party’s next nominee.” This quote from JOSIAH JASTER, a Republican in Michigan, sums up the mood of the piece: “I and a lot of other Republicans who were supportive of President Trump are becoming less and less supportive. Not because I’m a ‘Never Trumper.’ I just don’t believe Trump is the best person to move this party forward.” What many Republicans are looking for isn’t “anti-Trump, or even non-Trump — just post-Trump,” the authors write. That’s given an opening to Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS, who is offering Trumpist politics without Trump’s personal baggage. “But DeSantis’s bond with voters interviewed also appeared relatively loose — many just called him ‘the Florida guy’ — suggesting they were still persuadable for Trump or someone else.” Someone like, say, Sen. TIM SCOTT. Though the South Carolina Republican hasn’t formally entered the 2024 presidential primary, he was asked last night on Fox News’ “Hannity” what differences exist between him and Trump from a policy perspective. “Probably not very many at all,” Scott told Sean Hannity. “I am so thankful that we had President Trump in office.” Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line: gross@politico.com.
| | | | A message from Amazon: Two-thirds of college students in the U.S. say they struggle with the cost of their education. Amazon is committed to helping employees learn more and advance their careers by offering prepaid tuition for college, GED courses and ESL proficiency certificates.
Amazon Career Choice helps hourly employees earn their degrees without worrying about the cost.
Learn how Amazon is investing in employee growth. | | | CONGRESS HOUSE GOP GOES PRIMETIME — “Former Trump national security advisers among witnesses testifying at House hearing on China,” by CNN’s Alayna Treene and Zachary Cohen: “The House select committee on China will feature four high-profile witnesses during its first hearing Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, including former President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMASTER, and top China expert and former deputy national security adviser, MATTHEW POTTINGER, sources familiar with the hearing told CNN. This is the first primetime hearing that any GOP-led committee has held since Republicans took over the House majority in January.” JUDGMENT DAY — “Dems consider break with tradition to get Biden more judges,” by AP’s Kevin Freking: “The rising friction over what in Washington parlance is known as the ‘blue slip’ is creating tensions on the Senate panel that handles judicial nominations and prompting stern warnings from Republicans about a dangerous escalation in the partisanship that already dominates the judicial confirmation process.” THE WHITE HOUSE NEW NOMINATION — “Biden nominates Banga, former Mastercard CEO, to head World Bank,” by Zack Colman: “President Joe Biden on Thursday nominated AJAY BANGA, the former CEO of Mastercard, to lead the World Bank. Biden said in a statement that Banga is ‘uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history.’ World leaders have called on the international financial institution to rethink how it addresses emerging global crises like climate change, food security and the coronavirus pandemic.” TRUMP CARDS THE GEORGIA INVESTIGATION — “Trump attorneys: Special grand jury probe ‘a clown show,’” by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Tamar Hallerman and Bill Rankin: “Defense attorneys DREW FINDLING and JENNIFER LITTLE said media interviews earlier this week by EMILY KOHRS undermined the credibility of the probe. They indicated they were keeping their legal options open, including potentially filing court motions in response. ‘This type of carnival, clown-like atmosphere that was portrayed over the course of the last 36 hours takes away from the complete sanctity and the integrity and, for that matter, the reliability’ of the investigation, Findling told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution late Wednesday.”
| | | | We’re spilling the tea (and drinking tons of it in our newsroom) in U.K. politics with our latest newsletter, London Playbook PM. Get to know all the movers and shakers in Westminster and never miss a beat of British politics with a free subscription. Don’t miss out, we’ve got some exciting moves coming. Sign up today. | | | | | ALL POLITICS NEW SBF INDICTMENT DROPS — “Bankman-Fried charged with hundreds of illegal campaign donations,” by NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald: “Embattled cryptocurrency mogul SAM BANKMAN-FRIED directed tens of millions of dollars of illegal campaign contributions to elected officials, prosecutors alleged in a new superseding indictment unsealed Thursday in a Manhattan federal court. … The indictment accuses Bankman-Fried of directing at least 300 illegal campaign donations, totaling up to $100 million, to both Democrats and Republicans through two other unnamed FTX executives that acted as ‘straw donors’ to hide the true source of the funds.” Read the unsealed indictment REVVING UP THE RACE RATINGS — Sabato’s Crystal Ball is up with its way-too-early (or is it never-too-early?) initial ratings for the 2024 House map. The topline takeaway: “The overall battle for House control in 2024 starts as a Toss-up,” Kyle Kondik writes. Among the major themes that Kondik explores are likely attempts at mid-decade redistricting that could shake up the map (particularly in Ohio and North Carolina) and the unexpected swings in New York, where he notes that five Republican incumbents (including embattled Rep. GEORGE SANTOS) start in the “toss-up” column. The breakdown: “Sources on both sides of the aisle generally believe that the House playing field is not going to be that large. … Our overall ratings show 212 seats rated Safe, Likely, or Leans Republican, 201 rated Safe, Likely, or Leans Democratic, and 22 Toss-ups. Splitting the Toss-ups evenly, 11-11, would result in a net GOP gain of a single seat. Democrats need to net 5 seats to win the majority.” END OF THE LINE — “Why This Democratic Strategist Walked Away,” by The Atlantic’s Ronald Brownstein: “SIMON ROSENBERG delivered a major surprise last week when he announced that he was shutting down NDN, the Democratic advocacy and research group he has led since the mid-1990s.” BEYOND THE BELTWAY TROUBLING TREND — “U.S. mass killings linked to extremism spiked over last decade,” by AP’s Lindsay Whitehurst: “The number of U.S. mass killings linked to extremism over the past decade was at least three times higher than the total from any other 10-year period since the 1970s, according to a report by the Anti-Defamation League. [The report] also found that all extremist killings identified in 2022 were linked to right-wing extremism, with an especially high number linked to white supremacy.” POLICY CORNER WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN — “Chip Makers Turn Cutthroat in Fight for Share of Federal Money,” by NYT’s Ana Swanson and Don Clark: “Rival semiconductor suppliers and their customers pulled together last year as they lobbied Congress to help shore up U.S. chip manufacturing … The push led lawmakers to approve the CHIPS Act, including $52 billion in subsidies to companies and research institutions as well as $24 billion or more in tax credits … But that unity is beginning to crack. As the Biden administration prepares to begin handing out the money, chief executives, lobbyists and lawmakers have begun jostling to make their case for funding, in public and behind closed doors.”
| | | | JOIN POLITICO ON 3/1 TO DISCUSS AMERICAN PRIVACY LAWS: Americans have fewer privacy rights than Europeans, and companies continue to face a minefield of competing state and foreign legislation. There is strong bipartisan support for a federal privacy bill, but it has yet to materialize. Join POLITICO on 3/1 to discuss what it will take to get a federal privacy law on the books, potential designs for how this type of legislation could protect consumers and innovators, and more. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | WAR IN UKRAINE ALL EYES ON RUSSIA — “Allies Closely Eyeing Russian Nuclear Arms Activity, NATO Says,” by Bloomberg’s Natalia Drozdiak and Francine Lacqua: “NATO will closely monitor what Russia does with its nuclear weapons after President VLADIMIR PUTIN suspended his country’s participation in the New START treaty, the alliance’s chief JENS STOLTENBERG said as he warned of the risk of an arms build-up. “‘This is a reckless decision because we need arms control and we need transparency,’ Secretary General Stoltenberg told Bloomberg TV in an interview. ‘A world without nuclear arms control agreements risks leading to more nuclear weapons.’” TRAINING DAY — “While Ukrainians train on Leopard tanks, West is still short on pledges,” by WaPo’s Kate Brady in Munster, Germany VISUAL STORY — “The West Tried to Isolate Russia. It Didn’t Work,” by NYT’s Josh Holder, Lauren Leatherby, Anton Troianovski and Weiyi Cai AMERICA AND THE WORLD PENTAGON PREP — Taiwan is receiving aid from the Pentagon to shore up the island’s training tactics and weapon systems, Nancy Youssef and Gordon Lubold scoop for the WSJ: “The U.S. plans to deploy between 100 and 200 troops to the island in the coming months, up from roughly 30 there a year ago, according to U.S. officials. The larger force will expand a training program the Pentagon has taken pains not to publicize as the U.S. works to provide Taipei with the capabilities it needs to defend itself without provoking Beijing.” MEDIAWATCH YOWZA — “Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson Arrested After a Former Executive Pleads Guilty to Fraud,” by WSJ’s James Fanelli ROUND MOUND OF PROPOUND? — “Charles Barkley only considering CNN show out of ‘respect’ for Gayle King,” by NY Post’s Andrew Marchand PLAYBOOKERS OUT AND ABOUT — Gloria Dittus and Cathy Merrill hosted a reception and discussion with FeelBeit, a group dedicated to bridging divides in Jerusalem through arts and music, at Dittus’ home last night. SPOTTED: Karen Brunwasser, Elena Allbritton, Carol Melton, Melissa Moss and Jonathan Silver, Lyndon Boozer, Christina Sevilla and Steve Rochlin, Ami Aronson, Tamera Luzzatto, Kevin McDonald, Peter Mirijanian, Diane Blagman, Lucy and Brian Conboy, Todd Flournoy, Jennifer Vinson, Kimball Stroud, Tamara Buchwald, Diane Dewhirst, Kent Knutson and Bart Gordon. MEDIA MOVE — Stephanie McCrummen will join The Atlantic as a staff writer. She previously was a national reporter for WaPo. Full announcement TRANSITIONS — Sheri Trice and Anjali Varma are joining Women Business Collaborative. Trice will be development and sales senior director and previously was senior manager of sales development at Storyblocks. Varma will be a senior director and previously was co-founder of EmpowHERed. … Joe Minardi is now government relations manager at Western Alliance Bank. He previously was PAC director at the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. … Aria Austin is now a legislative aide for Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.). She previously was a staff assistant for Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). WEEKEND WEDDING — Jaelon Moaney, manager of federal relations for American Institute of Architects and a Chris Van Hollen alum, and Nicolle Vittini Cabral, teacher selection and cultivation specialist for D.C. Public Schools, exchanged vows in front of family and friends in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Feb. 18, the week of their eighth anniversary. The couple met in 2015 at Williams College before relocating from Western Massachusetts to D.C. Pic Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.
| | | | SPONSORED CONTENT Amazon helps employees learn and earn more
Amazon is committed to helping all employees grow, offering prepaid tuition, free technical training plus benefits that start on day one. With support from Amazon, Billy is able to earn his bachelor’s degree without losing a paycheck. Learn how Amazon supports career development. Sponsored by Amazon   | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
