| | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | | BREAKING — Rep. VICTORIA SPARTZ (R-Ind.) announced she won’t “run for any office” in 2024, officially squashing any speculation that she might jump into the Senate race against fellow GOP Rep. JIM BANKS. Read her full statement
|  Secretary of State Antony Blinken is postponing his trip to China. | Stefani Reynolds/Pool photo via AP | UP IN THE AIR — Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN will postpone a previously scheduled trip to Beijing in light of the discovery of a suspected large Chinese spy balloon that has been floating above the U.S. this week, AP’s Matthew Lee reports. Location update: Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. PATRICK RYDER told reporters at a news conference that he couldn’t specify the balloon’s exact location, but it is “moving eastward at this time” and that it could continue to track over the U.S. for a few days. He said DoD is “reviewing options” and not shooting down the balloon given its altitude and the potential for debris to harm civilians. — CBS’ Mary Walsh reports from a Pentagon source that it is “over ‘the middle of the country,’” noting that it is uncharted territory, as previous overflights occurred around Florida, Hawaii and Guam. China, for its part, claimed the balloon is a “civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes,” according to a statement from the foreign ministry. “The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into U.S. airspace due to force majeure.” More from NBC, who was first to report the news of the balloon’s presence More reactions: Sen. MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.), a Gang of Eight member: “It was a mistake to not shoot down that Chinese spy balloon when it was over a sparsely populated area. This is not some hot air balloon, it has a large payload of sensors roughly the size of two city buses & the ability to maneuver independently.” Sen. MITT ROMNEY (R-Utah): “A big Chinese balloon in the sky and millions of Chinese TikTok balloons on our phones. Let’s shut them all down.” Former President DONALD TRUMP on Truth Social: “SHOOT DOWN THE BALLOON!”
| | | | A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API): America has the energy resources, innovation and skilled workforce to meet energy needs while continuing to reduce emissions. But we need the policies to make it happen. API has a plan to protect America from energy challenges together. It’s a three-part plan – to Make, Move and Improve American energy. | | | WHO SAW THIS COMING? — The U.S. job market unexpectedly boomed in January, adding 517,000 jobs, zooming well past Wall Street projections that had the figure pegged around 190,000. The unemployment rate fell to 3.4% — the lowest mark in more than 50 years. In short: The blowout report is good news for President JOE BIDEN and Democrats ahead of the State of the Union address — but with a catch. The numbers could “stiffen the Federal Reserve’s determination to squeeze the economy to fight 40-year-high inflation,” our colleague Ben White writes, noting that the Fed’s “efforts to cool down the labor market by hiking interest rates at the fastest pace in decades are not yet having the desired impact.” Here’s what the numbers mean for key players, per Ben:
- Fed Chair JEROME POWELL: “Any single report can be an outlier and is unlikely to sway the Fed. But Powell is worried about the hot jobs market driving up wages, fueling inflation. So any news showing the market heating rather than cooling could be unwelcome.”
- Biden: “The White House can view the report as evidence that economists’ predictions of an imminent recession are off-base. But inflation is Biden’s biggest enemy on the economy, and the report will cause some unease within the administration, given that it could mean the Fed will crack down harder on growth to curb prices.”
- Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY: In the short term, the numbers “will undercut the argument by McCarthy and other Republicans that Biden’s economy is fading fast under the weight of inflation, which they say is driven by big spending bills.” But in the long view, “the more aggressive the Fed feels it has to be in killing inflation, the higher the risk that the central bank will push the economy into recession,” which Republicans could use against Democrats politically.
- And, of course, LARRY SUMMERS: “The former Treasury secretary under former President BILL CLINTON has long been saying that more Fed rate hikes will be needed to rein in the labor market. This report could offer more fodder for that argument.”
At the White House, Biden spoke about the report before he left for Philadelphia. Flanked by outgoing CEA Chair CECILIA ROUSE and outgoing NEC Director BRIAN DEESE, Biden said the “state of the union and the state of our economy is strong.” At the end of his remarks, Biden told reporters in the room that he would only answer questions about the economy. Asked why he doesn’t take any blame for inflation: “It was already there when I got here, man. Remember what the economy was like when I got here? Jobs were hemorrhaging, inflation was rising, we weren’t manufacturing a damn thing here. We were in real economic difficulty. That’s why I don't.” HMMM — “Biden took out $250K line of credit against Delaware beach home amid Hunter probe, classified docs scandal,” by Fox News’ Joe Schoffstall: “Biden acquired the six-figure home equity variable rate line of credit from M&T Bank on Dec. 5, 2022, Sussex County filings show. Biden and his wife, first lady JILL BIDEN, initially purchased the residence in 2017 for $2.74 million, according to county records. It is unclear why Biden quietly secured the line of credit, which allows him to borrow up to a quarter of a million dollars against his home’s equity, and the White House did not respond to a Fox News Digital inquiry on the matter.” Happy Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at gross@politico.com. CONGRESS WHO’S COMING TO SOTU — “House Foreign Affairs chair to highlight plight of Afghan women by bringing former ambassador to SOTU,” by CNN’s Alayna Treene: “House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman MIKE McCAUL has invited former Afghanistan Ambassador to the US ROYA RAHMANI to be his guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address next week, CNN has learned exclusively. Rahmani, a fierce defender of women’s rights in Afghanistan, was the country’s first female ambassador to the US, serving from December 2018 until July 2021.” WHAT’S ON THE TABLE — “House Republicans float one spending cut in a debt ceiling bill: unspent Covid money,” by NBC’s Sahil Kapur: “There’s no Republican plan, let alone a bill, to resolve the debt ceiling problem. But some GOP lawmakers are floating one idea to include in a package: rescinding approved but unspent Covid relief funds. … The idea isn't yet ready for prime time in the GOP-run House, the Democratic-controlled Senate or the White House. But it is the most specific Republicans have gotten in terms of what they'd like to attach to a debt limit hike.” WHAT’S OLD IS NEW — “Republicans Revive a Debate on Term Limits,” by NYT’s Carl Hulse: “The new House Republican majority is again pursuing limits on how long members of Congress can serve, and the result is likely to be the same: failure to garner the votes needed to send a constitutional amendment to the states for approval. But that won’t deter the backers of the plan, who once again say the public is fed up with career politicians and that those who reject term limits do so at their political peril.” OK THEN — “GOP Rep. Clyde hands out assault-rifle lapel pins to House colleagues,” by WaPo’s Amy Wang and John Wagner
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | THE WHITE HOUSE BIDEN’S MESSAGE TO DNC — “Biden to promote administration wins in speech to Democrats,” by AP’s Will Weissert ALL POLITICS DeSANTIS DOWNLOAD — “DeSantis eyes 2024 from afar as GOP rivals move toward runs,” by AP’s Steve Peoples, Thomas Beaumont and Anthony Izaguirre: “DeSantis is plowing forward with a fiery ‘anti-woke’ agenda in the legislature before a presidential announcement in late spring or early summer. His team is beginning to hold informal conversations with a handful of prospective campaign staff in key states, according to those involved in the discussions. But compared with would-be rivals, the Florida governor, famous for crafting his own political strategy, appears to be stepping into the 2024 presidential primary season much more deliberately.” POLICY CORNER BACKSTORY — “How Prosecutors Say a Top F.B.I. Agent Sold His Services Overseas,” by NYT’s Michael Rothfeld, William Rashbaum and Kenneth Vogel: “The episodes described in a pair of indictments unsealed last week by federal prosecutors in Washington and New York paint [CHARLES] McGONIGAL, 54, as aggressively entrepreneurial in seeking to generate business through the contacts and power his position afforded him, operating almost in plain sight without being detected despite the danger that someone with his knowledge could pose if corrupted.” CLIMATE FILES — “SEC Considers Easing Climate-Disclosure Rules After Investor Pushback,” by WSJ’s Jean Eaglesham and Paul Kiernan: “The final version of the SEC rules, expected this year, will likely still mandate some climate disclosures in financial statements, according to the people close to the agency. But the commission is weighing making the requirements less onerous than originally proposed, the people said, such as by raising the threshold at which companies must report climate costs.” JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH NO BACKSIES — “Sorry, not sorry: Some 1/6 rioters change tune after apology,” by AP’s Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Kunzelman: “Some defendants have drawn ire from judges or the Justice Department for their inconsistent comments. But there’s not much the legal system can do for an adjudicated defendant. And because some conservatives hold up Jan. 6 defendants as martyrs, there’s a political and possibly financial incentive for them to change their tune.”
| | | | JOIN POLITICO ON 2/9 TO HEAR FROM AMERICA’S GOVERNORS: In a divided Congress, more legislative and policy enforcement will shift to the states, meaning governors will take a leading role in setting the agenda for the nation. Join POLITICO on Thursday, Feb. 9 at World Wide Technology's D.C. Innovation Center for The Fifty: America's Governors, where we will examine where innovations are taking shape and new regulatory red lines, the future of reproductive health, and how climate change is being addressed across a series of one-on-one interviews. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | BEYOND THE BELTWAY WHAT HAPPENED IN VEGAS — “An investigative reporter was slain. What about his unfinished story?” by WaPo’s Jeremy Barr: “When investigative reporter JEFF GERMAN was killed in September, his colleagues at the Las Vegas Review-Journal were determined that his stories would not die with him. They plunged into reporting on his stabbing death outside his suburban home — and the complex saga of ROBERT TELLES, the former Clark County official whose turbulent management style German had investigated and who was now sitting in jail, charged with his murder. “But there was another story German had just begun before his death. And when The Washington Post reached out to offer assistance, the Review-Journal’s editor had an idea: Could The Post help finish it? In early November, Post reporter LIZZIE JOHNSON flew to Nevada to join a long and solemn journalism tradition.” Read the finished report: “An alleged $500 million Ponzi scheme preyed on Mormons. It ended with FBI gunfire.” REACHING CON-CENSUS — “This Is What It Looks Like to Try to Count America’s Homeless Population,” NYT: “To fix a problem, you need to know its scope. To do that, you need sheriffs, social workers, volunteers, flashlights and 10 days in January.” AMERICA AND THE WORLD DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — “Why Chinese Companies Are Investing Billions in Mexico,” by NYT’s Peter Goodman: “Alarmed by shipping chaos and geopolitical fractures, exporters from China are setting up factories in Mexico to preserve their sales to the United States.” FOR THOSE KEEPING TRACK — “Israel probes legality of US giving artifact to Palestinians,” by AP’s Ilan Ben Zion: “The clash brings into focus the political sensitivities surrounding archaeology in the Middle East, where Israelis and Palestinians each use ancient artifacts to support their claims over the land.” UNREAL ESTATE — “On the Hunt for Vladimir Putin’s Ex-Wife and Her Ironman Husband,” by Leonie Kijewski WAR IN UKRAINE BOMB VOYAGE — “Ukraine Hopes New Bombs From U.S. Will Help It Push Back Russia,” by WSJ’s Ian Lovett and Daniel Michaels in Orikhiv, Ukraine LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR — “Along Ukraine-Belarus border, a war of nerves — and drones,” by AP’s Samya Kullab PLAYBOOKERS IN MEMORIAM — “Ann McLaughlin Korologos, Former Labor Secretary, Dies at 81,” by NYT’s Clay Risen: “Ann McLaughlin Korologos, who served as secretary of labor from 1987 to 1989, becoming only the second woman to hold the post, died on Jan. 30 in Salt Lake City. She was 81. Her stepson, Philip Korologos, said the cause of her death, in a hospital, was complications of meningitis. Mrs. Korologos’s time at the Labor Department was brief, just 14 months, but it came at the end of a long tenure within the Ronald Reagan administration.” TRANSITIONS — Brian Fojtik has been named SVP for government relations at the Cigar Association of America. He most recently was president of Brownstone Communications. 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. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook PM misstated Nelson Mandela’s connections to Jeff Zients’ family. Mandela was a guest at Zients’ wedding. Zients’ wife grew up in South Africa and has been involved with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.
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