Driving the Day
SPOTTED: STEPHEN MILLER dining last night at Capital Grille with HOUSE MAJORITY WHIP STEVE SCALISE (R-LA) and Scalise chief of staff BRETT HORTON.
NEW — TRUMP CALLED MEGHAN MCCAIN — “Meghan McCain: Trump won’t attack my dad again,” by Anna and Reena Flores: “President Donald Trump won’t be trashing Sen. John McCain anytime soon. After months of criticizing the war veteran over his stance on a GOP health bill and more, the president called the Arizona Republican’s daughter Meghan to say he would back off the cancer-stricken veteran senator. ‘I don’t believe he would go there again,’ the younger McCain said in an exclusive interview for POLITICO’s Women Rule podcast. ‘I don’t think at this point in his administration it would be beneficial to him in any way.’”
Story Continued Below
— ON IVANKA: “The part that I find confusing about [Ivanka] is that she works in the administration; she has an office in the White House, and she has claimed not to be a political person,” McCain said. “You’re an adviser to your father, who also happens to be the president, and you’re not a political person? I don’t like things like that.” … “Oprah’s speech was so politically loaded, and if anyone had gone on a platform like the Golden Globes and made a speech that was even in a tiny way, or a small veiled way, a criticism of my father … I would have nothing nice to say about it,” McCain said. “So, it just confuses me.” Subscribe and listen to the full Women Rule podcast where McCain talks about growing up on the campaign trail and in the public eye and what it’s like to be the only conservative on “The View” http://bit.ly/2E8NA5O
Happy Wednesday morning. THE GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN TOMORROW… Should you be worried? Probably a little. There’s been a tad bit of progress since yesterday: the House has cleared their government funding bill, which keeps coffers filled until March 23, while funding two years of community health centers and a yearlong military spending boost.
THIS IS GOING NOWHERE, but we’re now entering into the really complicated phase. THIS IS GOING TO BE A HECTIC 48 HOURS.
— IT’S THE SENATE’S TURN, AND THIS COULD BECOME WHAT SOME CALL AN UNTHINKABLY MASSIVE PACKAGE: The Senate is likely to attach the following items to the stopgap spending measure that keeps government open until March 23: a deal to increase the debt limit until after the November elections, a bipartisan agreement to boost spending levels by $100 billion, disaster relief and an extension of various tax provisions. LOOKING FOR A PARALLEL? This is akin to John Boehner’s clean-the-barn gambit before he retired and handed the reigns to Paul Ryan.
— WAPO: “Senate leaders see two-year budget deal within their grasp,” by Mike DeBonis and Erica Werner: http://wapo.st/2E90mkX
— REPUBLICANS’ GAMBLE: This is a bipartisan deal in the Senate, so you don’t have to worry about things on that side of the dome. They’ve all but said shutting down the government is not an option. BUT WHERE DOES NANCY PELOSI LAND? Our guess is House Republicans could be counted on for between 120 and 150 votes for a package that big and that complicated. We hear Pelosi is inclined to support the package at the moment, according to people who have spoken to her. THE QUESTION: Will House Democrats vote for this deal without any appreciable movement on DACA?
— WHY WOULD THEY EVEN CONSIDER SUCH A BIG PACKAGE? HOUSE REPUBLICANS feel like this is their only opportunity to pass a debt limit.
— WHAT WILL TRUMP SAY HERE? This deal is objectively kind of “eh” for the White House. Sure, he clears the debt limit out, and gets spending increases which he could position as a start on his promise to “rebuild the military.” But another leverage point is going by without an immigration or wall deal.
— IF THEY CLEAR THIS BILL, it’s not over. It gives lawmakers another month to write another spending bill to keep government funded through Sept. 30.
DON’T BE SURPRISED if this government funding process goes down to the wire. This might not wrap up until Thursday or Friday.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS have moved their retreat from the Eastern Shore of Maryland to the Capitol so that they can be part of the government-funding skirmish.
WHO WILL REPLACE NANCY PELOSI? AND WHEN? — “‘It will be an intraparty war’: House Democrats contemplate a post-Nancy Pelosi world,” by Heather Caygle and John Bresnahan: “Nancy Pelosi is betting everything on taking back the House in November, and most Democrats are confident they’ll pull it off. But what happens if they fail? A stealthy discussion is already underway within the Democratic Caucus, particularly among members whose only experience in Congress is in the minority. Assuming Pelosi either leaves on her own or is pressured to step down, her exit would trigger a messy battle between the party’s old guard, led by House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and the party’s younger members, represented by House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.).
“It’s a generational showdown that’s been put off for years, but one that Democrats might not be able to be avoid much longer. ‘It will be an intraparty war. That’s what you can expect,’ said Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), who predicted a ‘mass exodus’ of Democrats if they don’t win the House in November. ‘That’s at the highest levels of leadership and at the committee level.’” http://politi.co/2sgUPTG
VP MIKE PENCE in Tokyo, per Reuters: “Pence, speaking to reporters after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said that the United States would soon unveil the ‘toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever.’
“Calling North Korea the ‘most tyrannical and oppressive regime on the planet,’ Pence said the United States and its allies including Japan would keep maximum pressure on Pyongyang until it took steps toward ‘complete, verifiable and irreversible’ denuclearization.”
— WAPO’S ANNE FIFIELD and ASHLEY PARKER on the ground in Tokyo. http://wapo.st/2C1JLJG
PENCE VS. MANCHIN, ROUND II — BURGESS EVERETT and MATT NUSSBAUM: “Manchin believes Pence has become an attack dog against his bipartisan reputation because the GOP is ‘afraid it plays too well with the public.’ ‘He looked me in the eye, and I looked him in the eye. And I said, ‘I want to work with you.’ And that’s a two-way street,’ Manchin said in an interview. ‘That is so disingenuous from our vice president.’ ‘He’s not upset. He can’t be upset,’Manchin said of Pence.
“Yet congressional Republicans close to Pence said there was no turning back on this impasse. One GOP lawmaker said Pence believes Manchin should now face political consequences for his vote. Pence is expected back in the state sometime before April, according to administration officials. ‘Pence is pissed. He should be pissed,’ said another Republican lawmaker.” http://politi.co/2E4jCQm
— PENCE EXPLAINED TO US last week how he thought about campaigning against Manchin and other Democrats: “I think in the appropriate way, and the appropriate setting, we want to make sure the people standing with the president get the right recognition and people that are opposing the president’s agenda also are called out. I thought it was important today to let the people here in West Virginia know that when it came to cutting taxes for working families and businesses here in [West Virginia], Joe voted no.
“And that as we travel around the country, whether it be a political event or an official event we’re going to make sure that we make sure the American people know that the agenda that we’re advancing is a result of partners on Capitol Hill and we’re going to thank the people that are helping us, and we’re going to make sure people know what the other side looks like.”
****** A message from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses: Small businesses are the cornerstones of communities across America. This month, Goldman Sachs is continuing its commitment to small business by hosting the 10,000 Small Businesses Summit in Washington, DC—connecting business owners with policy makers. Learn how we can #MakeSmallBig on February 13 and 14: GS.com/10KSBSummit ******
BIDEN UNLEASHED — “Biden: If I were Trump’s lawyer, I would advise against Mueller interview,” by Rebecca Morin: “Former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday said President Donald Trump has ‘some difficulty with precision’ and that he would tell him to not consent to an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller. ‘You are in a situation where the President has some difficulty with precision,’ Biden told Chris Cuomo on CNN. ‘One of the things I would worry about if I were his lawyer is him saying something that was simply not true without him even planning to be disingenuous.’ …
“Biden also said he ‘marvels’ at some of the things Trump says, referencing the president calling Democrats ‘treasonous’ for not standing up to cheer for him during his State of the Union speech. When told that the White House called that a tongue-in-cheek comment, Biden was not sympathetic. ‘Well, let me tell you, he’s a joke,’ the former vice president said.
“Biden clarified his statement by saying that Trump says ‘outrageously inaccurate things.’ ‘What presidents say matter,’ he said. ‘Our children are listening. The world is listening. It matters what they say. And it’s just amazing the outrageously inaccurate things the president says.’” http://politi.co/2EqEkJO
— ISAAC DOVERE: “Joe Biden has started recruiting top donors for his PAC’s finance committee — but some of them are resisting signing on, wary that he’ll decide again not to pull the trigger on a presidential bid and that their money might be better spent elsewhere.” http://politi.co/2BK2U7n
DARREN SAMUELSOHN: “Trump allies urge compromise with Mueller”: “‘The president could assert his Fifth Amendment privilege and tell Mueller to shove it,’ said Roger Stone, one of Trump’s earliest — and most combative — political advisers. But even Stone conceded that would be a risky move: ‘I think there can be a reasonable compromise. I recognize the political and legal danger of just stiffing the guy,’ he said.
“Stone and at least two other people who regularly speak to Trump — Newsmax publisher Chris Ruddy and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich — are instead advising that the president offer Mueller a compromise of responding to questions in writing only. That’s the same deal President Ronald Reagan struck during the Iran-Contra investigation in 1987, multiple Trump allies noted in interviews. Trump’s legal team is also interested in the possibility of a partial written exchange with Mueller, according to a source familiar with the White House’s strategy.” http://politi.co/2EPDTGN
STORY DU JOUR — WAPO’S GREG JAFFE and PHIL RUCKER: “Trump’s ‘marching orders’ to the Pentagon: Plan a grand military parade”: “President Trump’s vision of soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the boulevards of Washington is moving closer to reality in the Pentagon and White House, where officials say they have begun to plan a grand military parade later this year showcasing the might of America’s armed forces.
“Trump has long mused publicly and privately about wanting such a parade, but a Jan. 18 meeting between Trump and top generals in the Pentagon’s tank — a room reserved for top-secret discussions — marked a tipping point, according to two officials briefed on the planning. …
“Shows of military strength are not typical in the United States — and they don’t come cheap. The cost of shipping Abrams tanks and high-tech hardware to Washington could run in the millions, and military officials said it was unclear how they would pay for it.” http://wapo.st/2sfMXlh … CBS News on what the last big D.C. military parade in 1991 looked like http://cbsn.ws/2BZrpch
— THIS IS SO UNPRECEDENTED it is tough to judge how the White House could pull it off. But we imagine it would require approval — and cash — from Congress. Stay tuned …
IMPORTANT — NYT, A15 — “Democratic Group Targets All-G.O.P. States to Attack Gerrymandering,” by Alex Burns: “A Democratic group backed by former President Barack Obama intends to pour millions of dollars into an eclectic array of elections in a dozen states, in an effort to block Republicans from single-handedly drawing congressional maps after 2020, officials leading the group said. The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, formed last year under the leadership of Eric H. Holder Jr., the former attorney general, has settled on a strategy to contest a combination of governorships, legislative seats and more obscure state offices to chip away at Republicans’ sweeping control of the redistricting process. Mr. Holder said in an interview that the group was chiefly determined to deny Republicans so-called trifectas in state governments — places where a single party controls the governorship and an entire legislature, as Republicans do in Ohio and Florida, among other critical battlegrounds.” http://nyti.ms/2sds4rf
THE JUICE …
— CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP FUND is going up with another ad tying Democratic candidate Conor Lamb to Nancy Pelosi in the special election in Pennsylvania. This uses the clip of Pelosi calling the tax bill Armageddon. The 30-second spot http://bit.ly/2BcWJrs
— SENS. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-N.H.), JONI ERNST (R-IOWA), JOHNNY ISAKSON (R-GA.), TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.) and THOM TILLIS (R-N.C.) will announce a resolution to create a special committee to probe the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics after the Larry Nassar scandal. Press conference is today at 11 a.m. in the Senate gallery.
EPISODE TWO — CNN’S MANU RAJU and JEREMY HERB: “House GOP gives Trump leeway over whether to block Schiff memo” http://cnn.it/2Bcvkpz
— NEW POLITICO/MORNING CONSULT POLL — STEVE SHEPARD: “Poll: Voters ambivalent about Russia probe”: “In a survey conducted over this past weekend, three-in-10 voters say they think the contents of the memo, drafted by the staff of House intelligence committee chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) are ‘mostly true,’ and 22 percent think the contents are mostly false. Nearly half, 48 percent, don’t know or have no opinion. …
“Ambivalence toward the investigation extends to the man running it: Despite a sterling military and law-enforcement career — staying out of the public eye during this investigation — nearly as many voters have an unfavorable opinion of special counsel Robert Mueller (30 percent) as view Mueller favorably (32 percent).” http://politi.co/2BeTcJ1
WYNN GOES DOWN – “Steve Wynn Steps Down as Wynn Resorts CEO,” by WSJ’s Chris Kirkham, Alexandra Berzon and Kate O’Keeffe: “Steve Wynn, the billionaire casino visionary considered to be the architect of modern Las Vegas, resigned Tuesday as chairman and chief executive of his company in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations detailed in a Wall Street Journal investigation last month.
“Mr. Wynn, 76 years old, who founded Wynn Resorts Ltd. in 2002, said in a statement Tuesday evening he ‘reached the conclusion I cannot continue to be effective in my current roles’ after becoming the focus of ‘an avalanche of negative publicity.’ Matt Maddox, currently the company’s president, will take over as CEO.” http://on.wsj.com/2nPNEwe
A RAPID RISE — BOSTON GLOBE: “New candidate for state Senate president emerges,” by Frank Phillips and Joshua Miller: “[A] second-term lawmaker from Western Massachusetts has emerged as the latest potential candidate for Senate president …State Senator Eric P. Lesser, 32, of Longmeadow, is pulling together a politically and geographically diverse faction of other relatively new faces to the Senate, according to one of his Democratic colleagues who is part of the coalition. …
“Lesser, who came to the Senate in 2015 fresh from Harvard Law School and top positions in the Obama White House, declined to comment about his moves.” http://bit.ly/2nLVqY6
HOT VIDEO — CNN: “SpaceX launches world’s most powerful rocket” (the Falcon Heavy) http://bit.ly/2nOHcWh
TRUMP’S WEDNESDAY — THE PRESIDENT starts his day at 11 a.m. with the intelligence briefing, then meets with HHS Secretary Alex Azar at 11:30 a.m. At 1:45, he meets with CFTC Chairman Christopher Giancarlo. At 2:15, Trump meets with Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee in the Cabinet room. At 6:30 p.m., he hosts a dinner in honor of the National Prayer Breakfast.
Playbook Reads
GABE SHERMAN in Vanity Fair, “‘He Wants a Killer’: Post-Bannon, Post-Nunes, Post-Kelly Friction, a Frustrated Trump Searches for a West Wing Reset”: “After the much-hyped Nunes memo failed to deliver the narrative reset that the White House hoped for, Donald Trump is discussing a shake-up to his West Wing, three sources familiar with the president’s thinking told me. These people say the president is increasingly frustrated that members of his administration aren’t going to war for him, and he’s being encouraged by his daughter Ivanka to bring in new blood. … [One] outside adviser who regularly speaks with Trump said that the president is regretting some of his Cabinet choices. ‘He’s saying he should have put Rudy [Giuliani] at State and Chris Christie at Justice.’
“Trump has recently told advisers he wants a ‘killer’ to steer the White House’s response to Robert Mueller’s investigation and craft a midterm election message for him to stump on this fall. For Trump, there’s a growing urgency to fill the role. His efforts to stymie Mueller’s probe have so far failed, and the specter of impeachment looms if Democrats win back the House in November. Ivanka, who’s been frustrated with Chief of Staff John Kelly, has told her father that he needs people around him that will put his interests above their own. … The president’s top choice for the strategist position is Jason Miller, who served as communications director for Trump’s presidential campaign. ‘He wants a killer, and Jason is a killer,’ an outside adviser to the White House told me. Trump had wanted Miller to join the administration during the transition, but Miller withdrew after it was revealed he had an extramarital affair during the campaign with former Trump aide A.J. Delgado.” http://bit.ly/2BJ0PbS
WHO NEEDS AN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL? — “How Trump has already scored a win on infrastructure,” by Darius Dixon: “The Republican tax cut could spark the multibillion-dollar infrastructure program that almost nobody expected. Electric and gas utilities are finding themselves with vast amounts of excess cash as a side effect of last year’s tax code rewrite — money that could easily total tens of billions of dollars, based on initial corporate filings. Those funds could become available for a massive buildout of energy infrastructure, for projects such as modernizing the electric grid, installing pipelines or putting up wind farms.
“The cash surge could exceed anything that comes out of President Donald Trump’s still-unreleased $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan if that proposal runs aground in Congress. The debate about how to spend the utility windfall will take place in dozens of states and is already crossing ideological divides — environmental groups, for example, are discussing whether some money should go to uses like retraining displaced coal workers.” http://politi.co/2sbSUzT
–“Trump Wants a Border Wall. See What’s in Place Already,” by NYT’s Sarah Almukhtar and Josh Williams: http://nyti.ms/2nOz3kF
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Global Strategy Group is out with its fifth annual “Business and Politics” survey and found a major shift — people want corporations to engage on political and social issues, no matter how controversial. The report http://bit.ly/2sfkf4c
****** A message from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses: There are more than 29 million small businesses in the United States. All of their voices matter, but all of their voices are not always heard. That is why Goldman Sachs is hosting the 10,000 Small Businesses Summit in Washington, DC—one of the largest gatherings of small business owners on job creation. Learn how we can #MakeSmallBig on February 13 and 14: GS.com/10KSBSummit ******
RUSSIAN TROLLS STILL HARD AT WORK – “Russia pushes more ‘deep state’ hashtags: Following the success of #ReleaseTheMemo, Russian-influenced Twitter accounts seek to rile up Trump supporters with new messages, analysts say,” by Jason Schwartz: “After the success of the viral #ReleaseTheMemo campaign, Russian-influenced Twitter accounts are test-running other hashtags designed to stoke anger, particularly among supporters of President Donald Trump, against ‘deep state’ forces, according to analysts at Hamilton 68, a website that tracks Russian-influenced Twitter accounts.
“Last weekend, a host of new hashtags trended in the network of accounts monitored by Hamilton 68, including #fisagate, #obamadeepstate, #wethepeopledemandjustice, #thememorevealsthecoup and even #obamaslegacyisobamagate. None of those have taken hold, but the flurry of new efforts indicated to Bret Schafer, an analyst for the Alliance for Security Democracy, which runs Hamilton 68, that the Russians would continue to push issues related to the ‘deep state.’” http://politi.co/2EOrXEQ
— AP: “Russian hackers hunt hi-tech secrets, exploiting US weakness,” by Jeff Donn, Desmond Butler and Raphael Satter: “Russian cyberspies pursuing the secrets of military drones and other sensitive U.S. defense technology tricked key contract workers into exposing their email to theft, an Associated Press investigation has found. What ultimately may have been stolen is uncertain, but the hackers clearly exploited a national vulnerability in cybersecurity: poorly protected email and barely any direct notification to victims. The hackers known as Fancy Bear, who also intruded in the U.S. election, went after at least 87 people working on militarized drones, missiles, rockets, stealth fighter jets, cloud-computing platforms or other sensitive activities, the AP found.” http://bit.ly/2nS5Xkm
CHRISTOPHER STEELE PROFILE — ““Hero or hired gun? How a British former spy became a flash point in the Russia investigation,” by WaPo’s Tom Hamburger and Ros Helderman; “The FBI investigators treated Steele as a peer, a Russia expert so well-trusted that he had assisted the Justice Department on past cases and provided briefing material for British prime ministers and at least one U.S. president. During intense questioning that day in Rome, they alluded to some of their own findings of ties between Russia and the Trump campaign and raised the prospect of paying Steele to continue gathering intelligence after Election Day, according to people familiar with the discussion. … Those who believe Steele consider him a hero, a latter-day Paul Revere who, at personal risk, tried to provide an early warning about the Kremlin’s unprecedented meddling in a U.S. campaign. Those who distrust him say he is merely a hired gun leading a political attack on Trump.” http://wapo.st/2nIbdI9
MEDIAWATCH — “Los Angeles Times owner will sell paper, ending a long-troubled relationship,” by WaPo’s Paul Farhi: “The Chicago-based owner of the Los Angeles Times is expected to announce it is selling the newspaper, according to people familiar with the company’s plans, in a surprise move that probably spells the end of its long-troubled relationship with Southern California’s leading news outlet.
“The buyer is Patrick Soon-Shiong, a Los Angeles-area physician and a major shareholder of the paper’s current parent company, Tronc, according to the people involved in the deal, who asked not to be named because they weren’t authorized to talk. Soon-Shiong is the billionaire founder and chief executive of NantHealth, based in Culver City. He will also buy its sister newspaper, the San Diego Union-Tribune.” http://wapo.st/2Es1YWo
— FLASHBACK: Politico’s Darius Tahir, April 9, 2017, “How Washington’s favorite cancer fighter helps himself: Patrick Soon-Shiong is a philanthropist and a businessman. But a prime target of his philanthropy is his businesses”: http://politi.co/2E6ZA7P
— UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR THE NEXT OWNER OF THE L.A. TIMES: Forget about the White House, and most national news. Cover California like it’s a country. The political scene is great. The economy is massive. The Silicon Valley culture in the Bay Area combined with the entertainment business in Los Angeles makes California one of the most fascinating stories on planet earth.
— “NPR’s Daniel Zwerdling out after investigation into harassment,” by Current’s April Simpson: “Daniel Zwerdling, a veteran investigative journalist at NPR, has left the network amid allegations of sexual harassment. At least two NPR staffers reported Zwerdling to human resources in November, according to sources close to the investigation. Employees filed in response to an invitation by NPR’s top leadership that month to report inappropriate behavior. … Six current and former NPR interns and staffers told Current that they had been subject to harassment or inappropriate behavior from Zwerdling. Most were interns or young producers at the time. One of the women who reported Zwerdling to HR said he tried to kiss her. Three said they had witnessed inappropriate behavior.” http://bit.ly/2Es3QhJ
SPORTS BLINK – “These Two Nations Will Top the 2018 Olympics Medals Race, WSJ Projects,” by Rachel Bachman and Ellen Emmerentze Jervell: “The medals race in the Pyeongchang Olympics could come down to two nations: one that’s mastered a single activity, cross-country skiing; and another that’s gotten startlingly good at a bunch of them. Norway and the U.S. finished in a virtual dead heat in The Wall Street Journal’s projected medal count. Each could win 36 Olympic medals, although the Journal’s simulations show the U.S. is slightly likelier to get there.” http://on.wsj.com/2seRvbQ
Playbookers
SPOTTED: former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz having dinner with friends at Bombay Club last night … Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) yesterday at Del Mar … Preet Bharara on the noon LGA-DCA Delta shuttle.
OUT AND ABOUT … SPOTTED at the Washington gala benefit for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s annual engagement at the Kennedy Center: Mel Watt, Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Brenda Lawrence, Yebbie Watkins, Jerome Murray, Virgil Miller, Robert Raben, Erica Johnson, Marie Sylla, Fred Humphries Microsoft, Art Collins, Lyndon Boozer, Ray Dempsey, Marcus Mason, Robert Chiappetta, Dontai Smalls, Cristina Antelo, Joyce Brayboy, Ben Branch and Waldo McMillan.
— SPOTTED CELEBRATING the first anniversary of Joshua Johnson at the microphone of the public radio program 1A at District Winery last night: Sylvia Burwell, Mariann Budde, Deborah Tannen, Tammy Haddad, Matt Lewis, Andrew Beaujon, Daniel Newhauser, Rebecca Cooper, Vandana Sinha, Jennifer Nycz-Conner, Neil Kerwin, Ruth Marcus, Shane Harris, Nancy Youssef, Tom Hjelm, Renee Montagne and Michele Kelemen, Loren Mayor, Ron Elving, JJ Yore, Andi McDaniel and Rupert Allman.
— GLORIA DITTUS hosted a dinner last night for former Playboy CEO and First Amendment advocate Christie Hefner. SPOTTED: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), Neera Tanden, Charles Rivkin and Susan Tolson, Ben Barnes, Joe Reeder and Katie Boyce, Robert and Elena Allbritton, Steve Clemons and Andrew Oros, Martha Raddatz and Helen Milby.
BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) is 66. How he’s celebrating: “We’re having old friends, three other couples, over to our home. Equal parts dreaming about past and future.” Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2EPE58Z
BIRTHDAYS: Deborah Bodin Cohen … Gay Talese is 86 … Dave Levinthal, senior political reporter for the Center for Public Integrity … former Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) is 83 (h/t: Teresa Vilmain) … Jessica Kershaw … Beth Frerking, editor-in-chief of the Rivard Report … Matt Aiello … Jeff Kearns, Bloomberg’s China economics editor … Sterling Emerling … Jennifer Diamond Haber of Hargrove … Monica Medina, founder and publisher of Our Daily Planet and adjunct professor (h/t Jon Haber) … Jim Burns … Carleton Bryant … former Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.) is 45 … former Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) is 77 … former Rep. Mike Grimm (R-N.Y.) is 48 … former Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) is 57 … Robert Howard, communications director for the North Carolina Democratic Party … Hon. James Gilbert, chief administrative law judge of the U.S. Postal Service …
… Patrick Ferrise, producer of “The Press Pool” on SiriusXM POTUS … Mary Beth Stanton (h/t Heather Podesta) … Frank Binzoni … Emily Hampsten, press secretary for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) … Colleen Murphy, an editor at Bloomberg Tax … Cameron Page Langford, chief of staff for Stu Loeser & Co. and a Clinton-Kaine alum … Miguel L’Heureux … Jeanne McCann, VP of digital strategies at the Hatcher Group … Cappi Williamson, head of public affairs of WeWork Europe, Israel and Australia … Jeff Marschner, deputy COS/comms director for Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), is 4-0 … Edelman’s Tiffany Win … Marie Assali … Christine Grimaldi … John Criscuolo, executive director of The Freedom Project and a public policy advisor for Squire Patton Boggs … Marielle Kress, director of federal advocacy at the American Academy of Pediatrics … Christina Miller, senior manager for innovation process at Hilton Worldwide … Lisanne Nelson Brandon … Julie Thomas.
****** A message from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses: The overarching goal of 10,000 Small Businesses is to help small business owners create jobs and economic opportunity. To celebrate their achievements, Goldman Sachs is hosting the first-ever 10,000 Small Businesses Summit in Washington, DC. Learn how we can #MakeSmallBig on February 13 and 14: GS.com/10KSBSummit ******
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