| | | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri and Eugene Daniels | Presented by |  | | | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | The images were gripping: VP MIKE PENCE escaping out a back door with his family just as the mob closed in … Speaker NANCY PELOSI'S staff sprinting toward a double-door conference room to wall themselves off from rioters, who minutes later slammed on the door trying to get in … Senators running down hallways as Capitol Police officers distracted the vandals … Police officers beaten with Trump flags and metal polls, begging for backup … Body-camera footage of one officer being dragged into the crowd, battered and kicked while they shouted, "We got one! We got one!" For a quick impeachment catch-up, check out this POLITICO video of Wednesday's action. | 
| Reliving Jan. 6 was always going to be hard for senators. Emotions ran high in the chamber during the impeachment managers' presentation Wednesday, as senators saw just how close the mob, egged on by then-President DONALD TRUMP, came to finding them. Sen. JAMES LANKFORD (R-Okla.) was so shaken during a clip showing an officer being crushed in a door that a senator next to him reached out to comfort him as he appeared to start to tear up. Marianne LeVine, Sarah Ferris, Melanie Zanona and Andrew Desiderio have more on the Trump trial prosecution. CASSIDY'S CONUNDRUM — No senator appears to be struggling with the trial as much as BILL CASSIDY, who switched his vote Tuesday and declared the impeachment trial is constitutional. The Louisiana Republican is spending much of the trial furiously taking notes, pacing in the back of the room while listening to the managers, or sighing loudly in clear distress. He often shakes his head in dismay at video clips, or crosses his arms, clearly perturbed by what he is witnessing. "I took an oath to uphold the Constitution," Cassidy told the Hill pool Wednesday night. "A constitutional conservative takes that oath seriously. So, if I'm here to uphold the Constitution, I'm upholding it. I'm doing my job." Cassidy is now torn between what many of his constituents want — critics back home have dubbed him "Psycho Bill" — and what he feels is his duty. Our Burgess Everett, who's covered the senator for years, provides some perspective: "Cassidy, a doctor who treated uninsured patients for years in the state's charity health care system, evaded easy typecasting during the Trump era. He's not a loyalist like Lindsey Graham or Rand Paul. Nor is he a frequent critic of the ex-president like Mitt Romney or Bob Corker. But he's a reliable conservative vote, close to party leaders." WaPo's Paul Kane writes, however, that Cassidy has been signaling he wants to be more of an "independent force." Is this his moment? BUT HE'S A GOP OUTLIER — Several Senate Republicans signaled afterward that the managers' presentation wouldn't cause them to convict. Sen. ROY BLUNT (R-Mo.) changed the subject to last summer's protests against police brutality, which were overwhelmingly peaceful but in some cases led to violence and looting. "Well, you know, I mean, you have a summer where people all over the country were doing similar kinds of things," he said. Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) accused Democrats of "hypocrisy" for failing to muster the same outrage "when they came to my house, SUSAN COLLINS' house." | | | | A message from Amazon: Last year, Amazon created more than 400,000 new jobs across the U.S.—each paying at least $15 an hour. We believe that's the minimum anyone in the U.S. should earn for an hour of labor. We also know it's good for business.
When companies offer fair wages, they attract and retain great talent. When employees aren't worrying about paying their bills, they can focus on serving customers -- and spend on things that boost local businesses and strengthen our economy.
Congress: Let's pass Raise the Wage. | | | WHITE HOUSE BREAKS ITS SILENCE ON IMPEACHMENT TRIAL — CEDRIC RICHMOND, senior adviser to the president and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, tells NYT'S JONATHAN MARTIN that Cassidy's vote Tuesday declaring the trial constitutional was a "profile in courage." Until now, President JOE BIDEN and his senior aides have refused to comment publicly on the trial, instead pointing reporters to previous statements and declaring that Biden is not a "pundit." But Richmond, who once famously said of Cassidy, "dude is weird," adjusted his opinion and declared in the Times interview that Cassidy "has always been independent." — According to the AP's JONATHAN LEMIRE, "Among some Biden aides, there is a sense that the president will need to weigh in at the end of the trial, particularly if an expected acquittal prompts Trump to break his silence and further inflame a deeply divided nation." THE STEP BACK — "Trump on path to acquittal despite stunning evidence," by Andrew, Burgess and Marianne … "Republican senators show emotion, but little evidence of changed minds," by WaPo's Seung Min Kim and Karoun Demirjian | | | | A message from Amazon: Amazon started a movement in 2018 by increasing starting wages to $15 an hour.
Other major companies have followed suit, and now we're calling on Congress to continue this movement, which will benefit 32 million hard-working people and boost our economic recovery. | | | PLOT TWIST — Newly elected Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-Ala.) revealed to reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday night that he told Trump that Pence was being evacuated and, essentially, in danger mid-Jan. 6 siege. "I said, 'Mr. President, they just took the vice president out, I've got to go,'" he said, recounting a call that happened just moments after Pence left the chamber around 2:15 p.m. that day. As our Kyle Cheney points out, the notion that Trump knew Pence was in danger and did nothing could be significant to the managers' impeachment case. In fact, at 2:24 p.m., Trump attacked Pence on Twitter for having no "courage" to overturn the election in his favor. BIDEN'S THURSDAY — The president and VP KAMALA HARRIS will meet with senators from both parties to talk infrastructure in the Oval Office at 10 a.m., with Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG joining virtually. They'll receive the President's Daily Brief at 11:15 a.m. Biden will travel to NIH to visit the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory at 3:45 p.m. and deliver remarks to staff at 4:30 p.m. — Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at 12:30 p.m. | | | | TRACK FIRST 100 DAYS OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION: The Biden administration hit the ground running with a series of executive orders his first week in office and continues to outline priorities on key issues. What's coming down the pike? Find out in Transition Playbook, our scoop-filled newsletter tracking the policies, people and emerging power centers of the first 100 days of the new administration. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | 
PHOTO OF THE DAY: A sign supporting the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump hangs from a bridge near the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 10. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images | THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION NYT Mag's NOAM SCHEIBER has the first extensive look at Biden's economic team . It's a newsy must-read on the new administration. Playbook got a first peek Wednesday. Scheiber frames the central debate facing Biden's wonks around their response to the challenge of a rising China, which has forced a clash between liberals who embrace the previously maligned idea of industrial policy and those who don't. Biden is mostly sold on it: "What Biden wants to do represents a rethinking of the country's economic posture: seeking to promote certain sectors — like green-energy production and the manufacture of wind turbines, say — so as not to cede them to competitors in Europe and Asia. It is a deviation from the free-trade gospel that the two most recent Democratic presidents preached and that Biden embraced at earlier points in his career." Chief of staff RON KLAIN gets credit for convincing Biden to embrace a manufacturing revival last April when the economy was in freefall: "Klain, a senior adviser and now President Biden's chief of staff, intervened to urge that they focus primarily on jobs. … Biden agreed and instructed his team to think both expansively and practically. In Zoom call after Zoom call, he pleaded with them to identify jobs in manufacturing and energy that would not require workers to undergo years of retraining or uproot their families." The Biden/Klain focus on green jobs is creating tension between lefty economists, who want an America First policy that eschews cheaper imports from abroad, and climate activists, who argue that it's not sensible to spend years building up domestic green industries when Americans can buy cheap solar panels and batteries from foreign competitors. Scheiber breaks down the faultlines: The key economic nationalists are JENNIFER GRANHOLM, Biden's choice for Energy secretary; KATHERINE TAI, Biden's choice for U.S. trade representative; STEF FELDMAN, Biden's campaign policy director who now works in the White House; and JARED BERNSTEIN, a member of Biden's Council of Economic Advisers. The free traders are represented by WALLY ADEYEMO, Biden's choice for deputy Transportation secretary ("It's critical that the private sector play the leading role in deciding how to allocate capital"). The crucial swing vote is Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN, who Scheiber portrays as far more of a political animal than her reputation. She is on the record as recently as last February celebrating the benefits of globalization but tells Scheiber she's now on board with Biden-style industrial policy ("generally, I think there is a case for it''). The obscure policy where this debate will play out next: Biden needs to decide whether to revoke what is known as the trade-pact waiver, a giant loophole in the federal government's Buy American mandate that "that allows federal agencies to essentially treat companies in dozens of countries as American suppliers if they have trade relations with the United States." Some other key takeaways: — Biden is planning on spending massive amounts on industrial policy ($400 billion just on electric car incentives, according to BRIAN DEESE, Biden's top economic adviser). — Biden is planning on doing it quickly (STEVE RICCHETTI recently told House Transportation Chair PETER DEFAZIO (D-Ore.) that he wanted Build Back Better proposals ready before March). — Biden is not waiting around for Republicans (DAVID KAMIN, now a White House aide, created plans to use reconciliation for Biden's jobs package well before Election Day). PANDEMIC TRACKER: The U.S. reported 3,445 Covid-19 deaths and 95,000 new coronavirus cases Wednesday. THE LATEST GUIDANCE — "No quarantine needed for those who have received both shots of vaccine, CDC says," WaPo — "Biden's challenge: Creating enough tests and sequencing to track the virus," by Joanne Kenen: "President Joe Biden took office with a clear plan to attack the coronavirus. But the United States is still falling short on the public health steps needed to fight a highly contagious disease, a problem that's taking on mounting urgency as new variants of Covid-19 begin to spread around the country. "Almost a year after the first recorded U.S. death linked to coronavirus, the country lacks enough testing, contact tracing and masks. Now, it's falling far short on the genetic surveillance needed to track the highly contagious new variants as it also races to get tens of millions more Americans vaccinated." — "Government investigating massive counterfeit N95 mask scam," AP: "Federal authorities are investigating a massive counterfeit N95 mask operation in which fake 3M masks were sold in at least five states to hospitals, medical facilities and government agencies. "The foreign-made knockoffs are becoming increasingly difficult to spot and could put health care workers at grave risk for the coronavirus. … Officials could not name the states or the company involved because of the active investigation." BEYOND THE BELTWAY THE RECALL GETS REAL — "Newsom shifts into defense mode as California recall takes shape," Carla Marinucci: "The Democratic governor still refuses to utter the word 'recall,' as if doing so acknowledges his vulnerability. But his actions suggest he's well aware the effort to place the recall on the ballot has a strong chance of qualifying and derailing a political arc that many believed could lead to the White House." — "White House looks at domestic travel restrictions as COVID mutation surges in Florida," McClatchy: "Discussions in the administration over potential travel restrictions do not target a specific state but focus on how to prevent the spread of variants that appear to be surging in a number of states, including Florida and California. … "Two federal government officials underscored that no policy announcements are imminent, and that any move to restrict travel or impose new health measures would be taken in partnership with state and local governments." | | | | A message from Amazon: Amazon has created more U.S. jobs in the last decade than any other company, and we're committed to investing in our employees. That's why we spend over $700 million to provide free skills training to employees—helping them further their careers through tech. We also raised our starting wage to $15 an hour in 2018—something we're now calling on Congress to do for the entire country.
In 2020, we created more than 275,000 new jobs across the U.S. and currently provide over 800,000 Americans with industry-leading pay and benefits. We believe $15 an hour is the minimum anyone in the U.S. should be paid for an hour of labor. We also believe it's good for business.
Raising the federal minimum wage will provide immediate relief to America's hourly workers and their families, boost spending and fuel our long-term economic recovery. | | | POLITICS WATCH — "Exclusive: Dozens of former Republican officials in talks to form anti-Trump third party," Reuters: The early stage discussions include former elected Republicans, former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump, ex-Republican ambassadors and Republican strategists, the people involved say. "More than 120 of them held a Zoom call last Friday to discuss the breakaway group, which would run on a platform of 'principled conservatism,' including adherence to the Constitution and the rule of law - ideas those involved say have been trashed by Trump." LINCOLN PROJECT UNDER FIRE — "How a leading anti-Trump group ignored a crisis in its ranks," AP's Steve Peoples and Brian Slodysko: "In June 2020, members of the organization's leadership were informed in writing and in subsequent phone calls of at least 10 specific allegations of harassment against co-founder John Weaver, including two involving Lincoln Project employees, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the situation. "The email and phone calls raise questions about the Lincoln Project's statement last month that it was 'shocked' when accusations surfaced publicly this year. It's also the first known suggestion that Weaver targeted a Lincoln Project staffer. Despite the early warning, the group took no action against Weaver." AMERICA AND THE WORLD — "Iran Has Started Producing Uranium Metal, in Violation of 2015 Accords, IAEA Says," WSJ: "Iran has produced a material that is banned under the 2015 nuclear accords and could be used to form the core of a nuclear weapon, as it seeks to step up pressure on the Biden administration to lift economic sanctions on Tehran. "A confidential report by the United Nations atomic agency, seen by The Wall Street Journal, said Iran had started producing uranium metal on Feb. 6 at a nuclear facility in Isfahan that is under the agency's inspection. The material produced was a small amount of natural uranium metal, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported, meaning it wasn't enriched." — "Classified assessment found slow and chaotic response to brain injuries affecting diplomats in Cuba," WaPo: "[T]he Trump administration's slow and chaotic response to the incidents increased the likelihood that it may never be known who or what was responsible. "The June 2018 report by the Accountability Review Board found 'serious deficiencies in the [State] Department's response in areas of accountability, interagency coordination, and communication, at all levels,' that 'contributed to the confusion surrounding the events, and delayed effective, coordinated action.'" The report — "Biden confronts China's Xi in first call," by Natasha Bertrand: "During the call, Biden confronted Xi about China's 'coercive and unfair economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including toward Taiwan,' according to a readout of the call. They also discussed the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, among other issues. "The call, which came three weeks after Biden's inauguration, was the product of extensive consultations with U.S. allies in Europe and Asia about constructing a new China strategy, two senior administration officials said on Wednesday. … The officials acknowledged that the new administration is 'being very careful in our initial interactions with China,' but said the preparatory discussions with allies had put Biden in a 'strong position' to negotiate with his Chinese counterpart." MEDIAWATCH JUAN WILLIAMS AS JACK NICHOLSON: 'YOU DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH THE NEWS!' — A fight erupted on Fox News Wednesday after the network abruptly cut away from rolling impeachment coverage. During the opening segment of "The Five," four of the co-hosts described impeachment as a big waste of time — a consensus on the typically jocular show — until Juan Williams piped up for a final word. "I'm kind of shocked," he said to co-hosts Jeanine Pirro, Jesse Watters, Dana Perino and Greg Gutfeld. "I want you guys to come back and join the conversation, pay attention to the news." While impeachment rolled wall-to-wall on the other cable networks, Williams accused his co-hosts of dodging the news because it's damaging to Trump: "So this today, Wednesday, this impeachment trial you guys are all ignoring, I guess you are afraid of it …" Gutfeld fired back at Williams, shouting, "Please don't mind read. Don't mind read! Don't mind read!" Williams doubled down, saying, "You don't want to deal with the news!" Gutfeld accused Williams of attacking his own colleagues. The show carried on for the rest of the hour without another mention of impeachment. Topics included Biden's promise to get kids back to school, a national anthem controversy, a hacker who tried to poison a Florida water supply and, finally, the Zoom cat. Watch the blow-up on Mediaite — NYT's NICHOLAS KRISTOF goes even further, suggesting Fox News be put on trial with Trump. JOE POMPEO GOES LONG ON THE DRAMA AT NYT: "'It's Chaos': Behind the Scenes of Donald McNeil's New York Times Exit," Vanity Fair — "CNN at a Crossroads: What Will AT&T Do Next?" The Hollywood Reporter: "WarnerMedia, under CEO Jason Kilar, is embarking on an embrace of streaming video and direct-to-consumer strategy, led by its HBO Max service, and some on Wall Street now speculate that a potential sale or spinoff of CNN could be an option. "Regardless of whether CNN stays part of WarnerMedia, its future depends on forging a direct-to-consumer offering, with pay TV bundles and the lucrative carriage fees they provide in a slow-motion freefall." TOP-EDS WSJ EDITORIAL BOARD: "The Trump Impeachment Evidence: He might be acquitted, but he won't live down his disgraceful conduct." NYT'S TOM EDSALL: "How Long Can Democracy Survive QAnon and Its Allies?: Politicians and political scientists wonder if there are electoral reforms that might blunt the lunacy": "Has a bloc of voters emerged that is not only alien to the American system of governance but toxic to it? ... "'The American Republican Party looks like a European far-right party,' Ziblatt continued. 'But the big difference between the U.S. and a lot of these European countries is that the U.S. only has two parties and one of them is like a European far-right party. If the G.O.P. only controlled 20 percent of the legislature, like you see in a lot of European countries, this would be far less problematic — but they basically control half of it.'" | | | | TUNE IN TO GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS: Our Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, and these issues have exploded over the past year amid a global pandemic. This podcast helps to identify and understand the impediments to smart policymaking. Subscribe and start listening today. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | NEW BILL CLINTON PODCAST: The former president interviews SANJAY GUPTA: "How Facts Can Fight a Pandemic." Goes live today ANOTHER BATTLE LINE DRAWN IN THE GOP CIVIL WAR — House GOP Reps. ADAM KINZINGER of Illinois and MATT GAETZ and Florida got into quite the Twitter spat late Wednesday night. After the Illinois centrist unveiled plans to use a new PAC to go after Trump boosters — including colleagues who are very close to the president — Gaetz told him to "f---ing bring it." "Adam is a patriot who fought for America from Northwest Florida," Gaetz wrote. "We will always appreciate & honor his service. Now, he wants to target my America First politics, referencing me by name. My response: F---ing bring it. Adam needs PACs to win elections. I don't." Kinzinger, who served in the Air Force, responded with a GIF of fighter pilots in "Top Gun." NO HABLO ESPAÑOL — Duolingo and Voto Latino are launching a new campaign telling politicians to improve their Spanish to connect with Spanish-speaking voters. They'll have a bus wrap, a letter to top party committees and social engagement, with the tagline: "¡Hola, elected officials! Spanish is not just for the campaign trail. So keep learning." Their video of pols butchering Spanish on the trail SPOTTED at a Wilson Center event where former Rep. Jane Harman announced her retirement as president: Justice Stephen Breyer, Ash Carter, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Reps. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), and Jeh Johnson. TRANSITIONS — Robyn Kanner, Aja Nuzzi, Eric Ziminsky and Anna Impson are launching Studio Gradients, a creative agency. They were all previously on the Biden-Harris design team. … Amy Lawrence is now a director at Pinkston. She previously was comms director for Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.). … … Michael Podberesky is now a partner at McGuireWoods. He previously was a prosecutor in DOJ's Civil Fraud Section. … Jonathan Rosen is now a partner at Rimon. He most recently was a shareholder and co-chair of the False Claims Act defense group at Polsinelli. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) … former Rep. Rob Woodall (R-Ga.) … Matt Bennett … Jeb! Bush … Sarah Palin … Mike Leavitt (7-0) … Rick Tyler … Dan Barry … Alex Conant … James Hewitt … James Gleeson … Steven V. Roberts … POLITICO's Michelle Zar and Rachel Kosberg … Johanna Maska … Rob Hendin … Alicia Mundy … Casey Aden-Wansbury … Emily Kirlin of Peck Madigan Jones … Jess Sarmiento … Shannon Beckham of Schmidt Futures ... Alejandro Rosenkranz … Kyle Buckles … BBC's Pascale Puthod … Evan Siegfried … ProPublica EIC Stephen Engelberg … Elizabeth Patton … Hawaii Lt. Gov. Josh Green … Blackstone's Ilana Ozernoy … Hannah Lindow … BofA's David Stern ... Will Smith of Cornerstone Government Affairs … Ben Wessel … Matt MacMillan (4-0) … Nicole L'Esperance … Aubrey O'Day Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Got a copy of the fee agreement between Bruce Castor and Trump? Drop us a line at playbook@politico.com or individually: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross. | | | | 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 | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
