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Presented by Google: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun | Presented by |  | | | REPUBLICANS AREN’T THE ONLY ONES OVER IMPEACHMENT: Consider what Sen. TIM KAINE (D-Va.) told reporters this morning after 45 Republicans voted Tuesday to essentially call the second impeachment of Trump unconstitutional because he’s no longer president. “To do a trial knowing you’ll get 55 votes at the max seems to me to be not the right prioritization of our time,” he said. “Obviously we do a trial — maybe we can do it fast.” The Biden White House has felt this way for weeks, even if they don’t say it publicly. One option being talked about this morning among Senate Democrats: censure. Could the chamber forego a Senate trial, save time and garner bipartisan support on a lesser rebuke of Trump? Kaine says he’s already got some language he is circulating, though he said this could only really happen if at least 10 Senate Republicans agree. Realistically, though, Democrats can’t just walk away after starting down this path. Doing so would be politically tricky given the arguments the left has made for justifying a second impeachment in the first place. Plus, Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER said as much on the floor this morning, accusing the GOP of trying to slip out of a tough vote. “I would simply say to all of my colleagues: Make no mistake, there will be a trial,” Schumer said, “and the evidence against the former president will be presented in living color for the nation and every one of us to see once again.” AND THEN THERE’S THIS — “AP Exclusive: GOP to stay neutral should Trump run again”: “The head of the Republican National Committee on Wednesday declined to encourage former President Donald Trump to run for the White House in 2024, saying the GOP would stay ‘neutral’ in its next presidential primary. “In an interview, RNC Chairman Ronna McDaniel also described the pro-Trump conspiracy theory group known as QAnon as ‘dangerous.’ … [S]hould he run again in 2024 — and he has publicly and privately suggested he wants to — the national party infrastructure would not support his ambitions over other prospective candidates in accordance with party rules, she said.” Alex Isenstadt reported in early December that McDaniel intended to keep the RNC neutral in the 2024 primary if she secured another term. NEW VACCINATION ACTION … At the Biden White House’s Covid-19 response team’s first briefing this morning, they announced HHS will move to expand the pool of vaccinators — letting licensed practitioners administer vaccines across state lines, and allowing retired doctors and nurses to give shots. — ANDY SLAVITT said the government does not need more money from a new relief package to reach the 100 million doses/100 days goal — but it does need more money to go beyond that and vaccinate all Americans. HONEYMOON PHASE — A new Monmouth poll has President JOE BIDEN’S approval/disapproval rating at 54/30. Also: 71% of Americans would prefer for Hill Republicans to work with Biden, compared to 25% who’d prefer them to keep him in check. The poll REACTION TO TODAY’S EXECUTIVE ORDERS — “Biden’s new climate orders to reshape U.S. energy policy,” by Zack Colman and Ben Lefebvre: “Green groups were quick to welcome Biden’s climate initiatives, which had been the subject of chatter among environmental activists for weeks. … The order that has generated the sharpest opposition from oil companies is one that promises to re-write the relationship between the industry and public lands.” — “Biden to place environmental justice at center of sweeping climate plan,” WaPo SEN. PAT LEAHY (D-Vt.) is back presiding over the Senate today after a brief hospitalization for muscle spasms Tuesday night. Burgess Everett on Leahy’s “clean bill of health” | | A message from Google: Free digital coaching for Black and Latino small businesses. Grow with Google Digital Coaches provide digital skills training and coaching to help Black and Latino small businesses reach customers, thrive online, and grow. Offerings include digital skills workshops, hands-on coaching, and opportunities to learn from successful local businesses. Learn more. | | | THE BIDEN CABINET … U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. nominee LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD declined to declare China’s actions in Xinjiang a genocide, pending a State Department review, at her confirmation hearing this morning — a break with Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN. TYLER PAGER SCOOP — “Biden starts staffing a commission on Supreme Court reform”: “The commission will be housed under the purview of the White House Counsel’s office and filled out with the behind-the-scenes help of the Biden campaign’s lawyer Bob Bauer. … Among those who will be on the commission are Cristina Rodriguez, a professor at Yale Law School and a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Obama Department of Justice, who has been tapped to co-chair the commission. Caroline Fredrickson, the former president of the American Constitution Society, and Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law School professor and a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Bush Department of Justice, will also serve … “Fredrickson has hinted that she is intellectually supportive of ideas like court expansion. … Rodriguez’s opinions on court reforms are less clear. Goldsmith’s selection, meanwhile, is likely to be the one to frustrate progressives.” KINZINGER GETS THE WAPO STYLE TREATMENT — “Anti-Trump Republican Adam Kinzinger accepts his fate, whatever it is”: “One thing to understand about Adam Kinzinger is that he knows how this will end. ‘The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you’re already dead,’ the Republican congressman from Illinois says. … “Accepting the inevitability of The End can make you a hero — but not always, and not to everyone. In politics, when you take drastic action in an emergency, some people will believe you’re the man with the knife.” AEI PREZ COMES TO CHENEY’S DEFENSE — “Republican Attacks on Liz Cheney Will Backfire,” by Robert Doar in RealClearPolitics: “[H]er putative ally, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, says ‘she has a lot of questions she has to answer to the conference.’ This is the antithesis of leadership, and the Republican Party and conservative movement will pay dearly if they continue down this path. Any honest evaluation of Rep. Cheney’s record shows she is a true conservative in every sense of the term.” TALKER — COTTON INVERTS HIS NYT OP-ED … “Sen. Tom Cotton: Our National Guard’s Capitol mission is complete – it’s time to send home the troops,” Fox News: “With the inauguration complete and threats receding, now it’s time, yes, to send home the troops. … The lesson of the Capitol riot is not that we should quarter a standing army at the Capitol just in case, but rather that our security measures should be calibrated to the actual threats.” IMMIGRATION FILES — “Biden administration replaces top immigration court official,” by Josh Gerstein and Sabrina Rodríguez: “The Biden administration on Wednesday made its first move to set the nation’s immigration courts in a new direction … [T]he Justice Department said Jean King will soon take over on an acting basis as director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review. King, a former EOIR general counsel who currently serves as the office's chief administrative law judge, will replace James McHenry, a close ally of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.” UNEXPECTED HEADLINE — “President Biden’s First White House Sign Language Interpreter Has Ties to the Far Right,” Time: “[W]hen Press Secretary Jen Psaki began her briefing on Monday by announcing that American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters would now be present at all White House news briefings, many deaf and hard of hearing Americans celebrated this historic first. “But it turns out the first ASL interpreter chosen was not such a change from the previous Administration after all. Heather Mewshaw, who Psaki introduced on Monday as ‘today’s interpreter, Heather,’ also manages a conservative group of ASL interpreters who provide sign language accompaniments to right-wing videos. Some of these videos have featured vaccine misinformation, conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol, and false claims about Michelle Obama being transgender.” | | | | TRACK THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION: A new president occupies the White House and he is already making changes. What are some of the key moments from Biden's first week in office? Find out in Transition Playbook, our scoop-filled newsletter tracking the appointments, people, and emerging power centers of the first 100 days of the new administration. Subscribe today. | | | | | HOT ON THE RIGHT — “Fight over Biden Mideast adviser becomes proxy war over Iran policy,” by Natasha Bertrand: “[Rob] Malley, a cerebral, mild-mannered former Obama official who currently heads the International Crisis Group, has already been thrust into the center of a political fight over the new administration’s policy toward Iran — the first of what are likely to be many battles over Biden’s dealings in the Middle East. Republicans have accused Malley of being too soft on the Iranian regime and too critical of Israel. “And while progressives and current and former colleagues have rallied to his defense, some Democrats have expressed private worries about some of Malley’s public comments. … His positions have alienated some more conservative Democrats close to Biden and in Congress … But Malley’s defenders say the critics are acting in bad faith and using him as a proxy for their animus toward the Iran deal in general.” SWAMP WATCH — “As Biden enters White House, some allies, former staffers thrive as lobbyists,” ABC: “A lobbyist brother of Biden’s new White House counselor Steve Ricchetti has reported his best quarter of business since 2009 after picking up several major new clients just before and after the November election. … Also thriving as Biden takes office is Biden’s former director of legislative affairs, Sudafi Henry, who also had a lucrative final quarter of 2020.” OH … REUTERS: “Exclusive: Proud Boys leader was ‘prolific’ informer for law enforcement”: “Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys extremist group, has a past as an informer for federal and local law enforcement, repeatedly working undercover for investigators after he was arrested in 2012, according to a former prosecutor and a transcript of a 2014 federal court proceeding obtained by Reuters. “In the Miami hearing, a federal prosecutor, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and Tarrio’s own lawyer described his undercover work and said he had helped authorities prosecute more than a dozen people in various cases involving drugs, gambling and human smuggling. Tarrio, in an interview with Reuters Tuesday, denied working undercover or cooperating in cases against others.” @fred_guttenberg: “.@mtgreenee, is this you harassing @davidhogg111 weeks after the Parkland shooting, that my daughter was killed in & he was in? Calling him a coward for ignoring your insanity. I will answer all of your questions in person. Get ready to record again.” 2022 WATCH — “Senate GOP braces for more retirements after Portman stunner,” by James Arkin and Burgess Everett AILING AMERICA — “Going to bed hungry,” WaPo: “Across America, people are lining up for food — on foot and in cars, at churches and recreation centers and in school parking lots, in wealthy states and poorer ones. … They often spend hours waiting for as much food as will fit in a box. They hope it will be enough to get them through the week, or the week after, when they will line up again for another box. “After months of deadlock, lawmakers passed a relief package in December with $400 million to help supply food banks. But billions in food aid expired at year’s end. The country’s largest network of food banks is bracing for a 50 percent reduction in food received from the government this year, even as demand soars. In Pennsylvania and New Mexico, Maryland and California, The Post spent time with people living with hunger, and the people trying to help them.” WHAT JOE KENNEDY’S UP TO — “After Senate defeat, Joe Kennedy III plots new path in politics,” Boston Globe: “Former Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III … is launching a new political action committee aimed at bolstering grassroots organizing efforts in Massachusetts and overlooked states around the country. “The initiative, called Groundwork Project, will try to leverage the former congressman’s substantial network of donors and allies to support community activists and ‘hyperlocal’ organizing efforts to help Democrats expand their base, win elections, and deliver on progressive policy priorities … Asked whether [his] still-unresolved future plans include thoughts about running for office again, Kennedy did not mince words: ‘No plans whatsoever.’” WHOA — “Millions earmarked for public health emergencies were used to pay for unrelated projects, says inspector general,” WaPo: “Staff referred to agency as the ‘bank of BARDA’ and said research and development funds were regularly tapped for unrelated projects, from salaries to the removal of office furniture, the report finds” | | | | GET THE SCOOP ON CONGRESS IN 2021 : Get the inside scoop on the Schumer/McConnell dynamic, the new Senate Bipartisan Group, and what is really happening inside the House Democratic Caucus and Republican Conference. From Schumer to Pelosi, McConnell to McCarthy and everyone in between, our new Huddle author Olivia Beavers brings the latest from Capitol Hill with assists from POLITICO's deeply sourced Congress team. Subscribe to Huddle, the indispensable guide to Congress. | | | | | KNOWING THE PARDONED — “How the head of Marvel Entertainment and a headstrong lawyer quietly convinced Donald Trump to free a West Baltimore man,” Baltimore Sun: “[T]he 56-year-old West Baltimore man’s latest attempt to get released from a mandatory life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense had been rejected by a judge … Two thousand miles away, Josh Dubin, 45, sat on the patio of Mar-a-Lago, a guest of President Donald Trump and the first lady. The tattooed former boxing writer turned sought-after trial consultant from Brooklyn sipped whiskey and picked at a plate of lobster tail and caprese salad, sweat dripping down his back as he waited to bring up the reason he was there: Jawad Musa. “Dubin had never met Musa, or the president for that matter. But he was there on behalf of the billionaire chairman of Marvel Entertainment, who had his own reasons for wanting to see an injustice righted. Find someone worthy of clemency and I’ll make it happen, Isaac Perlmutter had told Dubin. After a few phone calls and some research, Dubin and Perlmutter settled on a man neither had ever even spoken to.” PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “Large majorities of the region’s nursing home workers have declined the coronavirus vaccine,” WaPo AFTERNOON READ — “Out of the Barrel of a Gun,” NYT Magazine: “Last year, thousands massed at Virginia’s Capitol to protest against new gun-control laws. They included heavily armed militia members, an increasingly common presence in American political life. This year, after the failed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, these displays look very different — but the message is the same.” WHAT IS ‘BEST’ MAY NEVER DIE — “Melania Trump hires staff and establishes post-White House office,” CNN: “Former first lady Melania Trump is establishing a post-White House office in Palm Beach, Florida, according to two sources familiar with her plans. Her intention is to ‘maintain “Be Best,”’ said one of the sources, Trump’s loosely defined initiative that looks to help children. … “Hayley D’Antuono served for four years as the former first lady's director of operations and trip supervisor, and is now Trump's chief of staff. Mary ‘Casey’ Finzer … is now a part of the operational and administrative side [of] Trump's post-White House team. Marcia Kelly, who served as an unpaid senior adviser to Trump when she was in the White House, is also staying onboard for the post-White House office, though it is unclear whether she will now receive a salary.” LIFE AFTER TRUMP — “Mark Meadows’ new gig,” Axios: “Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is joining the Conservative Partnership Institute, a group run by former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint that operates as a ‘networking hub’ for conservatives.” BOOK CLUB — “Former Rep. Will Hurd writing book, expected in 2022,” AP MEDIAWATCH — Ben Pauker is POLITICO’s new national security and world editor. He previously was managing editor at Vox and ran ForeignPolicy.com. — WAPO’S @ErikWemple: “The fallout from the ‘Caliphate’ collapse at @nytimes continues: Metro editor Cliff Levy will be taking an ‘interim’ role advising Sam Dolnick and Lisa Tobin in upgrading the audio department, which produced ‘Caliphate.’” TRANSITIONS — Kane Miller has been named executive director of DigiDems. He’s an alum of Elizabeth Warren’s and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns. … Nicholas Diamond is now a director at Crowell & Moring International, focused on global health and regulatory policy. He most recently was a consultant at Avalere Health. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Alleigh Marre, founder of Hickey Strategies and a DoD alum, and Zack Roday, managing director of 76 Group and a Paul Ryan and House E&C alum, on Jan. 19 welcomed Holden Carlson, who came in at 7 lbs, 4 oz. Pic … Another pic | | | | A message from Google:   Small businesses can receive hands-on coaching from Digital Coaches in free Grow with Google workshops. They’ll learn how to connect with customers and more. Explore. | | | | | | | 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 politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
