| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | ONE YEAR LATER — President JOE BIDEN will finally travel to East Palestine, Ohio, for the anniversary of the Norfolk Southern train derailment that precipitated an environmental disaster with dangerous chemicals, The Plain Dealer’s Sabrina Eaton scooped. He’ll talk with residents affected by the incident and take stock of his administration’s response. FIREWORKS ON THE HILL — Tech CEOs got an earful from Senate Judiciary today over the proliferation of child sexual abuse content on their platforms. And in perhaps the most dramatic moment, Sen. JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.) aggressively asked Meta’s MARK ZUCKERBERG if he wanted to apologize to families of victims who were in attendance. Then Zuckerberg turned, stood and did so, as family members held up photos: “I’m sorry for everything you have all been through,” he said. “We are going to continue doing industry-wide efforts to make sure no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer.” Updates from WaPo
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Speaker Mike Johnson gave the tax bill a strong endorsement in a statement just before noon. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | FULL SPEED AHEAD — After steering over some bumps last night, Speaker MIKE JOHNSON is barreling toward a floor vote tonight on the tax package, raising the prospect that Congress could soon land its first big bipartisan law of the year. The bill will need significant numbers of both Democrats and Republicans, as Johnson is fast-tracking it under suspension of the rules and will need two-thirds support in the chamber, Benjamin Guggenheim reports. But the overwhelming majority vote out of House Ways and Means portends well for its chances. Tonight’s vote is expected to take place close to 8 p.m. The path is clearer now after Johnson quelled a brief rebellion yesterday of moderate Republicans from wealthy districts, who demanded that the revival of expanded state and local tax relief be included. In the end, per Punchbowl’s Laura Weiss, it wasn’t too hard to mollify the New Yorkers: Johnson gave them a separate vote on a bill doubling the SALT deduction for married couples filing jointly. Johnson gave the bill a strong endorsement in a statement just before noon, calling it “important bipartisan legislation” that “also ends a wasteful COVID-era program.” In a nod to the bill’s origins with Ways and Means Chair JASON SMITH (R-Mo.) and Senate Finance Chair RON WYDEN (D-Ore.), Johnson added, “This bottom-up process is a good example of how Congress is supposed to make law.” The bill could have a significant impact on America. The child tax credit expansion doesn’t go as far as Congress did during the pandemic, but one report from the progressive Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that it would push close to half a million children back out of poverty. And the three business tax breaks would give a boost to companies that have benefited from the changes since the Trump-era tax reform in 2017. (GROVER NORQUIST loves it.) Details from CNN Moderates in both parties are likely on board with the bill. The child tax credit has sparked an unlikely alliance between progressives and anti-abortion groups, which see greater financial support as a key tool to make sure families have kids instead of abortions, The New Republic’s Grace Segers reports. Still, final passage isn’t a done deal yet: There’s opposition from both the left and the right in the House. And though Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER backs it, some Senate Republicans are talking about amendments.
| | | | A message from Instagram: Parents should be able to decide which apps are right for their teens.
According to a new poll by Morning Consult conducted in November 2023, more than 75% of parents believe teens under 16 shouldn’t be able to download apps without parental permission.1
Instagram wants to work with Congress to pass federal legislation that gets it done.
Learn more.
1"US Parents Study on Teen App Downloads" by Morning Consult (Meta-commissioned survey of 2,019 parents), Nov. 2023. | | | Roundup of other Hill bites:
HEADS UP — “Fulton DA Willis, Wade subpoenaed to testify at Feb. 15 hearing,” by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Bill Rankin Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com. JOIN US — POLITICO Live is hosting its first event of the year today at Union Station, a multi-part examination of “How Fast Can We Solve Alzheimer’s?” The evening event will include conversations with Sen. TIM KAINE (D-Va.) and Reps. BRETT GUTHRIE (R-Ky.) and DARIN LaHOOD (R-Ill.), along with a panel talk about the accelerated approval process for drugs and treatments. Sign up here FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — In the middle of winter with today’s temperatures in the mid-40s, parts of the White House are without heat this morning, our colleague Daniel Lippman has learned. “Due to a water main break on 17th Street, the EEOB and NEOB, Winder Building and 1724 F Street have all lost building heat and will continue to be without [it] for an undetermined amount of time,” the White House operations center said in an email to employees early this morning, noting that the West and East Wings were unaffected. White House officials in affected areas have been encouraged to dress accordingly or work from home.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE GOLDEN STATE POLITICAL ARENA: POLITICO’s California Playbook newsletter provides a front row seat to the most important political news percolating in the state’s power centers, from Sacramento and Los Angeles to Silicon Valley. Authors Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner deliver exclusive news, buzzy scoops and behind-the-scenes details that you simply will not get anywhere else. Subscribe today and stay ahead of the game! | | | | | | | 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  Iranian Gen. Hossein Salami said that “we will not leave any threat unanswered,” but that Iran is “not looking for war.” | AFP via Getty Images | 1. WAR REPORT: The U.S. response to the deadly drone attack on troops in Jordan may involve a weekslong “campaign” of reprisals against Iranian-backed militants, NBC’s Carol Lee and Courtney Kube report. As has been expected, the attacks are likely to remain outside of Iran itself for fear of escalation, and include both physical and cyber strikes. In public statements today, the leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards appeared to be walking a similarly delicate line: Gen. HOSSEIN SALAMI said that “we will not leave any threat unanswered,” but that Iran is “not looking for war,” per the NYT. 2. CROOKED MEDIA STRAIGHTENING DEMS OUT: “Crooked Media tries to tackle Democrats’ voter enthusiasm problem,” Zach Montellaro scoops: “[I]t has a plan to mobilize them for 2024 anyway: Focus down-ballot. The political arm of Crooked Media … is rolling out the 2024 iteration of its voter engagement program on Wednesday, which will emphasize high-impact congressional races and ballot initiatives across the country.” 3. BEYOND THE BELTWAY: “Some Republican leaders are pushing back against the conservative Freedom Caucus in statehouses,” by AP’s David Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri: “In state capitols around the country, Republican legislative leaders are pushing back against a growing network of conservative lawmakers attempting to pull the party further to the right with aggressive tactics aimed not at Democrats but at members of their own party. … With the recent addition in Missouri, [the State Freedom Caucus Network] now counts chapters in 11 states, with designs to keep expanding. … [N]ew State Freedom Caucus chapters are founded only by invitation from the national group — and come bankrolled with staff.”
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | 4. 2028 WATCH: Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS’ failed attempt to dethrone DONALD TRUMP atop the GOP could redound against his future ambitions, having turned many Trump voters against him, AP’s Jill Colvin reports from Manchester, New Hampshire. In early-voting states, many Trump backers say they agree with the former president that DeSantis became a traitor to the MAGA cause, and they’ve written him off. Amid all of Trump’s attacks on the governor — from personal mockery to policy disputes — it’s the sense of disloyalty that resonates most deeply. Nonetheless, DeSantis’ allies think he could be a leading contender in four years. 5. BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE: “Rep. Scott Perry Has Consistently Sailed To November. This Year Is Different,” by NOTUS’ Katherine Swartz: “[A]part from a first-ever primary challenge and a field of well-funded moderate Democrats vying to run against him should he get through, [Rep. SCOTT] PERRY faces one other challenge. He must also defeat a man best known for his giant inflatable pig. Perry is facing a lawsuit in Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court to keep him off the ballot for his role in attempting to keep Trump in office, a case whose outcome may be closely tied to a looming Supreme Court case around Trump’s own fate on the ballot.” 6. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: What will the U.S. do if China invades Taiwan in the next few years? The American military and its allies are increasingly making plans to shore up their logistics network and capabilities in the region, Reuters’ Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali report. Recent exercises in Australia, for example, discreetly “helped create new stockpiles of military equipment that were left behind in Australia after the drills ended in August.” That’s because as things stand, China could seriously hamper the U.S. in the Pacific just by targeting supply lines. Despite the increased attention, “critics say Washington’s network is still too concentrated and that the government hasn’t put enough money or urgency toward the effort.” 7. PLANNING FOR ROUND TWO: “Prospect of Trump 2.0 Has Europe Scrambling on Military Spending,” by WSJ’s Daniel Michaels: “Amid criticism from the Republican presidential front-runner, NATO members who boosted defense budgets are urging laggards to do more.”
| | | | CONGRESS OVERDRIVE: Since day one, POLITICO has been laser-focused on Capitol Hill, serving up the juiciest Congress coverage. Now, we’re upping our game to ensure you’re up to speed and in the know on every tasty morsel and newsy nugget from inside the Capitol Dome, around the clock. Wake up, read Playbook AM, get up to speed at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report, and fuel your nightly conversations with Inside Congress in the evening. Plus, never miss a beat with buzzy, real-time updates throughout the day via our Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Nancy Pelosi, Rosa DeLauro and Jim McGovern nominated José Andrés and World Central Kitchen for the Nobel Peace Prize. George Santos’ campaign finances are still saddled with debt. Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s incendiary schools chief, has gone from being a teacher to calling schools “Epstein island.” (Is higher office next?) Chris Wray warned that Chinese hackers are coming for U.S. critical infrastructure. Dennis Kucinich’s departure from the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. campaign came amid concerns about his management Nikki Haley’s new ad/video/email series targets Joe Biden and Donald Trump as “grumpy old men.” HOT JOB: Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) is urgently hiring for a comms and staff assistant. IN MEMORIAM — “Hal Buell, who led AP’s photo operations from darkroom era into the digital age, dies at 92,” AP: His “four-decade career with the news organization … included 12 Pulitzer Prizes and some of the defining images of the Vietnam War.” — “Tim Kraft, who managed the 1976 Iowa Caucus Campaign that played a pivotal role in Jimmy Carter’s successful run for the Democratic Party presidential nomination and later served as a top aide to President Carter, passed away January 21, 2024, at the age of 82.” Full obit OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a party for Liza Mundy’s new book, “The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA” ($32.50), hosted by Esther Coopersmith and Janet Pitt: Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), Susan Blumenthal, Gayle Wicker, Chuck and Lynda Robb, Bill and Lynda Webster, Andrea Mitchell, Charlene Austin and Bill Nye the Science Guy. — Andreessen Horowitz hosted an “American Dynamism” summit at the Waldorf Astoria yesterday, focused on defense technology, health care and AI, followed by a private reception in the evening at the National Portrait Gallery. SPOTTED: Kathleen Hicks, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Mark Cuban, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Emilie Choi, Brian Schimpf, Jan Sramek, Ed Park, Todd Park, Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Gabe Amo (D-R.I.) and Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), David Ulevitch, Katherine Boyle, Martin Casado and Vijay Pande. — Molly Jong-Fast and Noah Shachtman hosted “A Party for No Reason,” celebrating E. Jean Carroll and her defamation judgment against Donald Trump, last night at the Flower Shop on the Lower East Side. SPOTTED: Lawrence O’Donnell, Lis Smith, Angelo Roefaro, Shawn McCreesh, Agnieszka Pilat, Ben Collins, Nick Gillespie, Aidan McLaughlin, Tara Palmeri, Jay Michaelson, Lydia Polgreen, Sarah Ellison, Michael Calderone and Lachlan Cartwright. — SPOTTED last night at Maria Terea Kumar’s birthday party at Cafe Milano: second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Jim Acosta, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.), Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Jonathan Capehart, Patrick Gaspard, Andrea Mitchell, Kelley Robinson, Lee Brenner, Janti Soeripto, Raj Kumar, and Kate and Tucker Warren. TRANSITIONS — Jed Kolko is departing his role as undersecretary of Commerce for economic affairs at the end of the week. He’s been the principal economic adviser to the Commerce secretary on macroeconomics, industrial policy and supply chains. … Jasmine Harris is joining the Biden campaign as director of Black media, theGrio’s Gerren Keith Gaynor scooped. She previously was director of African American media for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. … … Ivonne Rodríguez is now director of communication at America’s Voice. She most recently was national comms senior manager for Make the Road States and Make the Road Action. … Jamie Wadovick Gentle is now a VP at UpONE Insights. She previously was a research director at Public Opinion Strategies. 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, producer Andrew Howard and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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