| | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
The justices’ ruling about whether President Donald Trump can fire Lisa Cook from the Fed could come fairly quickly. | Mark Schiefelbein/AP | SCOTUS WATCH: A majority of the Supreme Court sounded likely to keep Lisa Cook in her job at the Fed for now, with the justices at least inclined to call for additional fact-finding and court proceedings, in what would be a rebuke to President Donald Trump’s efforts to fire her and reshape the central bank. Fed up: The justices indicated a hesitancy to green-light Trump’s firing of Cook when the underlying facts of his mortgage fraud allegations against the central bank governor remain in dispute, POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney and colleagues report. They also raised concerns about whether she’d been granted due process. And the Supreme Court seemed inclined to allow Cook to remain in her role while any further litigation proceeds. “At times during the argument Wednesday, the justices seemed to be debating how to rule in Cook’s favor, rather than whether to do so,” our colleagues write. The Fed exception: Though the Supreme Court has allowed Trump to fire a range of other executive-branch officials at independent agencies, the justices indicated last year that they were inclined to carve out the Fed for special insulation. Today, they remained concerned about an incursion: The Trump administration’s argument could “weaken, if not shatter, the independence of the Federal Reserve,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh said. Economists have long shared a consensus that central bank independence from political pressures is crucial to managing the economy, but Trump has repeatedly railed against that norm and urged lower interest rates. The arguments: Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the justices that Trump had legitimate cause to fire Cook, which could not be questioned or reversed by the courts because the president should have wide discretion. He faced skeptical questions from Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Chief Justice John Roberts and others. Even arch-conservative Justice Samuel Alito noted the “hurried manner” of Trump’s emergency petition. “Why are you afraid of a hearing?” Barrett asked Sauer. But she and others also had tough questions for Cook’s lawyer, Paul Clement. He argued that Cook’s actions before joining the Fed could not be considered cause for dismissal — and that Trump’s stated rationale was just a flimsy attempt to mask a policy dispute, which would essentially give the president carte blanche on the Fed if not struck down. Earlier this morning, Trump once again took aim at Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering rates “and said he expected loyalty from his nominees to the Fed,” Kyle and co. write. What comes next: The justices’ ruling could come fairly quickly, as they’re hearing the case on an expedited basis. The stakes are high for both the limits of presidential power and the independence of the Fed. Another Trump target: “Speaking out against the Pentagon raised Mark Kelly’s profile. It also came with a cost,” by CNN’s Isaac Dovere in Forsyth, Georgia: “Prison or the White House. Mark Kelly is having to consider whether either place is a realistic possibility. … ‘I feel this obligation more so than anything I’ve ever done in my life, to fight back against an unhinged president and a weaponization of the federal government’ … He says multiple retired generals and admirals have told him they’ve started watching what they say out of fear [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth will go after them too. He’s been hearing from active service members too. … [H]e is starting to think seriously about running for president.” Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
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Read more success stories. | | | | | | 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. WHERE THE TROOPS MAY GO: “Pentagon orders more active-duty soldiers to ready for possible Minneapolis deployment,” by MS NOW’s Laura Barrón-López and David Rohde: “A prepare-to-deploy order was issued yesterday for members of an Army military police brigade stationed at Fort Bragg … At least a few hundred soldiers are being prepared for the possible mobilization to Minneapolis … Asked for comment, a Pentagon official said, ‘We have nothing to announce at this time, and any tip about this is pre-decisional.’” 2. WHERE THE TROOPS WON’T GO: Trump told the world that the U.S. “won’t use force” to seize Greenland, in remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos today, per POLITICO’s Alex Gangitano. That retreat from saber-rattling amounted to at least a partial de-escalation in Trump’s campaign of threats against Greenland and Europe, though he made clear that the U.S. will still be driving hard to negotiate an acquisition: “You can say yes” to the U.S. taking over Greenland, he said, “and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no — and we will remember.” Trump said it was “a very small ask” for the U.S. to get what he dismissed as “a piece of ice” to bolster security for NATO writ large. Sigh of relief: A U.S. military attack on a NATO ally being taken off the table (assuming Trump doesn’t change his mind) will be the biggest takeaway for a rattled Europe. But Trump also had plenty of criticism for Europe and much of the rest of the world, which he described as too dependent on the U.S. (“Canada lives because of the United States,” Trump said.) He repeatedly threatened allies and demanded immediate negotiations for the U.S. to acquire Greenland. Live updates from our colleagues in Switzerland The fallout: Trump’s threat of tariffs on European trading partners to pressure them on Greenland led the EU today to freeze ratification of its trade deal with the U.S., which would have finalized slashing last year’s tariffs on both sides, per Bloomberg. Beyond Greenland: Trump weighed in on a number of other topics in his speech and question-and-answer session. He said he thinks Ukraine and Russia are “reasonably close” to reaching a peace deal, “and if they don’t, they’re stupid.” He went even more extreme than usual in anti-immigrant rhetoric against Somalis and others, lambasting “foreign cultures which have failed to ever build a successful society of their own.” Trump made many familiar false claims about energy, investments, NATO — and the 2020 election being “rigged,” saying that “people will soon be prosecuted for what they did,” per POLITICO’s Cheyanne Daniels. The buzz in Davos: As Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick gave a speech last night, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde walked out (though it’s not clear how much that was due to tiredness vs. outrage), WSJ’s Lauren Thomas and Jenny Strasburg scooped. Lutnick’s pugnacious comments led to some booing/heckling, including from Al Gore, the FT reports. … California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s speech today at USA House in Davos was canceled at the last minute — and his administration accused them of capitulating to State Department pressure to do so, which the event organizer denied, POLITICO’s Jeremy White scooped. 3. WAR AND PEACE: Trump said he’ll meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Davos tomorrow, per POLITICO’s Alex Gangitano and Felicia Schwartz. Special envoy Steve Witkoff said he and Jared Kushner will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow, and with the Ukrainians sometime afterward, per Reuters. What’s next in Gaza: Norway and Sweden today became the latest countries to reject Trump’s invitation to join his Board of Peace, saying they supported peace/rebuilding efforts in Gaza but were wary of a backdoor U.S. effort to supplant the U.N., AP’s Julia Frankel and Samy Magdy report. The White House says roughly 30 countries are expected to get on board. Beyond Norway, Sweden and France, other Western allies are grappling with how to respond. 4. THE COMING PIVOT: Though foreign affairs have consumed much of Trump’s second term, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said he’ll transition to traveling across the U.S. on a weekly cadence leading up to the midterms, POLITICO’s Diana Nerozzi reports. Beginning with Iowa next week, and in concert with Cabinet officials, Trump will seek to sell voters on his agenda significantly earlier than he did with travel in 2018.
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➡️ Subscribe Now | | | | | 5. CLIMATE FILES: “Trump’s E.P.A. Has Put a Value on Human Life: Zero Dollars,” by NYT’s Maxine Joselow: “Last week, the E.P.A. stopped estimating the monetary value of lives saved when setting limits on two of the most widespread deadly air pollutants, fine particulate matter and ozone. … It’s a drastic change to the way the government weighs the costs of curbing air pollution against the benefits to public health and the environment. It could lead to looser controls on pollutants from coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, steel mills and other industrial sites across the country, resulting in dirtier air.” 6. ON THE HILL: House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) today kicked off proceedings to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress amid their ongoing dispute over testimony about late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, AP’s Stephen Groves and Matt Brown report. “Nonetheless, there were signs of a potential thaw as the Clintons, both Democrats, appeared to be searching for an off-ramp to testify.” Meanwhile, Comer said the committee will depose Ghislaine Maxwell next month, per POLITICO’s Hailey Fuchs. And a federal judge said he couldn’t grant lawmakers’ request for an “independent monitor” to oversee DOJ’s Epstein files release, per POLITICO’s Erica Orden. The funding fight: The big government spending “minibus” moving through the House this week could hit some speed bumps as Republicans from the Midwest push for a change on E15 gasoline sales, per Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman and Samantha Handler. Speaker Mike Johnson’s margins are very tight. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) told Democrats they’ll vote against the Homeland Security bill without officially whipping against it — and many of their colleagues will follow suit, POLITICO’s Mia McCarthy reports. What’s in the minibus: The minibus does not include funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting or restore frozen money for the Gateway Tunnel and other rail projects, Semafor’s Burgess Everett scooped. The Trump administration also secured wins on the Education Department transformation and the decimation of foreign aid. Secret weapon: House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) talks to NBC’s Sahil Kapur about how he — along with Trump pressure — managed to keep his conference together last year, getting rare hard-right support for funding and debt limit votes to deny Democrats leverage. Happening today: “US House panel to vote on bill to give Congress authority over AI chip exports,” by Reuters’ Karen Freifeld 7. 2029 WATCH: Departing Virginia AG Jason Miyares is indicating that he intends to run for governor in 2029, which he was planning to do even before he lost his reelection bid last fall, National Review’s Audrey Fahlberg reports. 8. FIRST AMENDMENT FILES: “Washington Post demands government return materials seized from reporter,” by WaPo’s Perry Stein: “The Washington Post demanded in a court filing Wednesday that federal law enforcement officials return electronic devices the government seized from [Hannah Natanson’s] home last week, writing that the extraordinary search ‘flouts the First Amendment and ignores federal statutory safeguards for journalists.’” 9. HOW THE MADURO RAID IS PLAYING: “In Latin America, Loathing of Maduro Smothers Outcry Over U.S. Raid,” by NYT’s Emma Bubola in Buenos Aires: “[A] regional frenzy did not translate into a significant wave of organized protests across a continent that has long harbored resentment over the United States’ Cold War-era meddling in Latin America. While some Latin Americans denounced what they decried as American imperialism in Venezuela, a more supportive response to President Trump’s action prevailed, with several polls showing that a majority of Latin Americans endorsed the intervention. … [A] shift toward pragmatism is eclipsing old ideological loyalties, at least for now.”
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| | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | OUT AND ABOUT — Ilyse Hogue and John Neffinger hosted an event at their Cleveland Park home honoring Tom Perriello as he launches a Virginia congressional run. SPOTTED: Fatima Goss Graves, Kimball Stroud, Julius Genachowski, Adam Green, Daniella Gibbs Leger, Eric Kessler, Elizabeth Glover, Philippa Hughes, Adam Ruben, Andrea Purse, Jess Smith, Lauren Windsor, Mike Lux, Matt Butler, Lori Wallach, Kate Damon, Annie Shoup, Arkadi Gerney, Annie Weinberg and Santiago Mayer. — SPOTTED yesterday at Google DC for an event titled “From Delhi to DC: Advancing Multilateral AI Partnerships,” hosted by The Dialogue with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation’s Center for Data Innovation: Bethany Morrison, Ajay Kumar, Behnaz Kibria, David Weller, Akanksha Gupta, Aalok Mehta, Jeffrey Bean, Ridhika Batra, Olivia Igbokwe-Curry, Vikram Singh, Hodan Omaar, Daniel Castro, Jameela Sahiba, Kriti Singh and Nihal Krishan. MEDIA MOVE — Bryan Flaherty is now managing editor for content strategy at WaPo. He most recently was head of audience strategy. TRANSITIONS — Gene Sperling is launching an Economic Dignity Lab at Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy, Axios’ Mike Allen scooped. He’s a former National Economic Council director and Biden White House alum. Read his new piece in Democracy … Nancy Moon will be VP of membership and strategic development at the American Gas Association. She previously worked at the American Council of Life Insurers. … Yonnick Hammond is joining Cassidy & Associates as an SVP in the national security and defense practice. He previously worked at the Missile Defense Agency. … … The States Forum has added Aleigha Cavalier as VP of content strategy and Priya Singh as VP of strategy and programs. Cavalier most recently worked at Precision Strategies and is a Biden White House alum. Singh previously worked at the Center for Reproductive Rights and is an Obama and Biden White House alum. … Trey Baker is joining Taft as senior counsel. He previously worked at Barnes & Thornburg and is a Biden White House alum. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our deputy editor Garrett Ross.
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