| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | | |  “We need to calm things down,” D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson said as he sought to withdraw a criminal code revision. | Alex Wong/Getty Images | CRIME AND PUNISHMENT — D.C. Council Chair PHIL MENDELSON announced today that he’s asked the Senate to withdraw changes to the city’s local criminal code that have sown division over crime among national Democrats. After all the controversy — with congressional Republicans pushing to overturn the D.C. bill and President JOE BIDEN signaling he wouldn’t stop them — Mendelson said it was time for city leaders to regroup. “We need to calm things down,” he said. “It’s quite clear to me that the headwinds that have prevailed in Congress are about the politics of next year’s election, not what's in this bill.” Read his letter to VP KAMALA HARRIS here The context: The D.C. bill, which aimed to reduce mandatory minimum sentences for some crimes like carjackings, sailed through the D.C. Council over the objections of Mayor MURIEL BOWSER. A Republican effort to unwind it looked headed for perhaps the first veto of Biden’s presidency. But Biden reversed course last week and announced his support — making Democrats livid, especially over the principle of interfering in local D.C. affairs, as he sought to prevent Republicans from painting him as soft on crime. But, but, but: It now seems that Mendelson’s move will not halt Republicans’ disapproval resolution from moving forward in the Senate. He said he believed he had the authority to withdraw a bill while it was in the congressional review process, despite a lack of precedent. But Senate aides are now telling reporters they expect to move forward with a vote this week nonetheless. In a statement, Sen. BILL HAGERTY (R-Tenn.), who introduced the resolution, called Mendelson’s letter a “desperate, made-up maneuver.” “Not only does the statute not allow for a withdrawal of a transmission,” a Senate leadership aide said in a statement, “but at this point the Senate Republican privileged motion will be acting on the House disapproval resolution, rather than the DC Council’s transmission to the Senate. We still expect the vote to occur.” More from WaPo TAIWAN DIALS IT DOWN — Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY won’t meet with Taiwanese President TSAI ING-WEN in Taipei after all: Taiwan persuaded him to move the meeting to California instead to avoid upsetting China, FT’s Kathrin Hille and Demetri Sevastopulo scooped. McCarthy wanted to visit Taiwan in a show of boldness against Beijing, as NANCY PELOSI did while speaker. But Taiwan shared intelligence with his office about the Chinese threat to get him to reconsider. “Tsai’s reluctance to have McCarthy visit signals the impact of China’s military posturing to constrain Taiwan and undermine its de facto independence.” BIG AFTERNOON READ — “The New Anarchy,” by The Atlantic’s Adrienne LaFrance: “In recent years, Americans have contemplated a worst-case scenario, in which the country’s extreme and widening divisions lead to a second Civil War. But what the country is experiencing now—and will likely continue to experience for a generation or more—is something different. The form of extremism we face is a new phase of domestic terror, one characterized by radicalized individuals with shape-shifting ideologies willing to kill their political enemies. Unchecked, it promises an era of slow-motion anarchy.” Good Monday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
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See the results. | | | 2024 WATCH TRUMP’S BOT ARMY — Over the past year, hundreds of thousands of fake Twitter accounts have hyped up DONALD TRUMP, criticized NIKKI HALEY and tried to steer Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS to a VP spot, AP’s David Klepper reports, drawing on research by Cyabra, an Israeli tech firm. The origin of the networks is unknown, but believed to be U.S.-based. “As Republican voters size up their candidates for 2024, whoever created the bot network is seeking to put a thumb on the scale, using online manipulation techniques pioneered by the Kremlin to sway the digital platform conversation about candidates while exploiting Twitter’s algorithms to maximize their reach.” WHAT THE RNC IS READING — “‘If You Ain’t First, You’re Last’: How State ‘Sore-Loser’ Laws Make It Impossible For Trump To Run A Successful Third-Party Campaign If He Loses The Republican Primary,” by Jason Torchinsky, Steve Roberts, Dennis Polio and Andrew Pardue in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy STILL IN THE MIX — Former national security adviser JOHN BOLTON told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins this morning that he’s still weighing a presidential bid, and was “very disappointed” that Maryland Gov. LARRY HOGAN opted out. “The focus here has got to be on eliminating Trump from the nomination process as early as possible,” Bolton said. TROUBLE IN THE GRANITE STATE — “Biden reelection bid faces resistance from some Democrats,” by AP’s Steve Peoples in Laconia, N.H.: “[T]here’s a risk of a disconnect between rank-and-file Democrats and the party’s establishment. While voters are signaling unease about the prospect of another Biden campaign, Democratic governors, senators and congressional representatives are virtually unanimous in supporting Biden’s reelection. … Interviews with angry New Hampshire Democrats across state government and local Democratic committees suggest there is some appetite for a serious primary challenger in 2024. But top-tier prospects don’t seem to be interested.” BATTLE FOR THE SENATE — GOP women’s groups are hoping the favorable 2024 Senate map will provide an opportunity to grow the ranks of women in the Senate, The 19th’s Grace Panetta reports. With Republicans eyeing a long list of possible pick-ups, many advocates are hoping that a more assertive NRSC will provide an institutional boost for female candidates in Senate primaries. But “Republican women lack an organization with the equivalent influence and financial firepower of a group like EMILY’s List.” AMERICA AND THE WORLD TRADE WARS — The U.S. is stepping up a trade dispute with Mexico regarding genetically modified corn, planning to ask for official talks under the USMCA, per Bloomberg’s Eric Martin and Mike Dorning. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — A new plan between South Korea and Japan today amounts to a significant step to smooth over historical friction between the two U.S. allies — and is the latest example of strengthened American alliances putting pressure on China in the region, WSJ’s Peter Landers reports. Just like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine repelled many European countries, Beijing’s more aggressive posture has invited a U.S.-led backlash. The big picture: “The U.S. Is Not Yet Ready for the Era of ‘Great Power’ Conflict,” by WSJ’s Michael Gordon in the first major story in a series: “The U.S. military’s success in the Mideast and Afghanistan came in part from air superiority, a less well-equipped foe and the ability to control the initiation of the war. A conflict with China would be very different. The U.S. would be fighting with its Asian bases and ports under attack and would need to support its forces over long and potentially vulnerable supply routes. If a conflict with China gave Russia the confidence to take further action in Eastern Europe, the U.S. and its allies would need to fight a two-front war.”
| | | | 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. | | | | | CONGRESS KNOWING DAN MEYER — McCarthy’s 68-year-old chief of staff will play an under-the-radar but crucial role in the looming debt ceiling and spending battles in Congress, WaPo’s Jeff Stein, Leigh Ann Caldwell and Theo Meyer report. A NEWT GINGRICH and GEORGE W. BUSH alum and a former lobbyist, Meyer is “the consummate insider” — a man who earns praise from “Democrats and Republicans alike for his calm demeanor, vote-counting prowess and mastery of both congressional personalities and arcana.” And his presence is giving some Washington establishment figures reassurance that Congress won’t sail over the fiscal cliff. But the Minnesotan faces a much different GOP than he managed during previous standoffs. DEBT REALITY CHECK — NYT’s Jim Tankersley crunches the numbers from the past few decades and finds that “Republicans bear at least equal blame as Democrats for the biggest drivers of federal debt growth that passed Congress over the last two presidential administrations.” The numbers: Per CBO projections, since the start of the Trump administration, 13 new laws have combined to add more than $11.5 trillion to the federal debt. “Nearly three-quarters of that new debt was approved in bills that gained the support of a majority of Republicans in at least one chamber of Congress,” writes Tankersley. “Three-fifths of it was signed into law by Mr. Trump.” THE WHITE HOUSE BIDEN’S ABORTION PLAY — With congressional action on abortion out of the question, the White House is stepping up its efforts to bolster Democrats on the issue in state capitals, Reuters’ Nandita Bose scoops. Biden’s team is providing “legal and messaging advice” in states where abortion restrictions advance, trying to sway legislation and legislators, as the White House seeks to keep abortion front and center for the 2024 campaign. “The White House's Gender Policy Council is spearheading the effort, along with an inter-governmental affairs team and Vice President Kamala Harris’s office,” with an unusually granular focus on state legislative fights. POLICY CORNER WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE IS TOUTING — “Department of Transportation details ‘fee free’ family airline seating with new dashboard,” by CNN’s Pete Muntean and Marnie Hunter FROM 30,000 FEET — Biden’s recent industrial policy moves amount to a much more expansive use of government power to transform corporate behavior than the U.S. has seen recently, WaPo’s David Lynch and Tony Romm report. From insulin pricing to electric vehicles, the Reagan-era conventional wisdom is falling out of favor. “Biden’s rejection of long-standing orthodoxy on the state’s proper economic role marks the end of an era in which Washington habitually bowed to the market — and is a gamble on an interventionist approach that in the past has delivered economic wins as well as government waste.” THE ECONOMY RECESSION WATCH — “Fed’s Rate Moves Put Manufacturing Sector at Risk,” by WSJ’s David Harrison and Austen Hufford: “The American manufacturing sector is starting to show signs of weakness after two years of strong growth, as higher interest rates and a slowdown in exports threaten production. … A manufacturing downturn could be a sign of trouble in the broader U.S. economy. Although manufacturing accounts for a relatively small share of gross domestic product, about 11%, it has historically been an early indicator of recession.”
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | MEDIAWATCH THE LIBEL BIBLE — Republicans like Trump and DeSantis have increasingly called for the Supreme Court to take a hard look at New York Times v. Sullivan, the shield ruling that set a very high bar for libel lawsuits against the press. But that’s the standard Fox News is using to defend itself against Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit, setting up “an unlikely collision course” between the network and the top GOP presidential contenders, AP’s David Bauder writes. PLAYBOOKERS OUT AND ABOUT — The D.C. Sons of the American Revolution and the D.C. Daughters of the American Revolution hosted the 10th annual “Sweethearts and Patriots” gala Saturday night at the British Embassy. The event raised over $100,000 of assistance for veterans through the charity Code of Support. SPOTTED: retired Gen. Jack Keane, James Roscoe, Rear Adm. Tim Woods, Robert Speer, F. Whitten Peters, Thomas Siebert, retired Major Gen. Alan Salisbury, retired Major Gen. John Ewers, retired Gen. David Rodriguez and retired Capt. Pete Shoemaker. MEDIA MOVES — POLITICO has added James Romoser as legal editor and Erica Orden as a legal reporter. Romoser previously was editor of SCOTUSblog and columnist at The National Journal. Orden previously was a reporter for CNN and is a WSJ alum. … Josh Kraushaar will be editor-in-chief at Jewish Insider. He previously was senior politics reporter at Axios. … Justin Bank is now a managing editor at WaPo, NYT’s Ben Miller reports. He previously was senior director for digital news and strategy at NPR. TRANSITIONS — Garrett Hawkins is now director of comms at the Institute of International Bankers. He most recently was director of public affairs and comms at Marathon Strategies. … James Hunt is now manager of government relations at Beamer Group. He most recently was legislative representative for federal affairs at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Federal Affairs. Saul Hernandez is now a principal at theGroup. He previously was VP of government relations for NCTA – The Internet & Television Association. … … Ryan Lambert is now a professional staff member for the House Small Business GOP. He previously was senior policy analyst of congressional affairs at ARServices and is a Small Business Administration alum. … Anna Holland is now press secretary for the House Homeland Security GOP. She most recently was deputy press secretary at the House Republican Conference and is a Ted Cruz alum. … Lisa Grimes is now personal chief of staff for Jane Harman. She most recently was social secretary to the French ambassador. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Austin Bone, senior director of government affairs for the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, and Christina Bone, managing director at Accenture Federal Services, welcomed Gunnar Bone on Feb. 13. Pic … Another pic BONUS BIRTHDAY: Kara Carscaden 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.
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