| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | NOTABLE QUOTABLE — “I know I don’t look like it, but I’ve been around a while. I do remember that,” President JOE BIDEN said with a smile today to big cheers from a friendly crowd at the National Association of Counties legislative conference. And then, in the kind of pivot he’s hoping voters will make this fall, Biden added, “But you know, there’s so much we’re getting done,” running through investments from the Chips and Science Act, American Rescue Plan and more. GREAT NEWS — House Majority Leader STEVE SCALISE’s cancer is “now in complete remission,” according to Speaker MIKE JOHNSON.
|  Republican Mazi Pilip has kept a very low public profile, instead allowing ads focused on immigration to steer the narrative for her. | Adam Gray/Pool/AFP via Getty Images | FEELING SPECIAL — There’s a hidden advantage for MAZI PILIP in tomorrow’s special congressional election: the Nassau County GOP infrastructure, which “has roared back to life” with old-school machine politics and is blanketing the district with its ground game, NYT’s Nicholas Fandos reports from Massapequa. Pilip is so dependent on them that, amazingly, she has nobody listed on her campaign payroll. Instead, county party Chair JOSEPH CAIRO JR. has laid the groundwork to try to keep the seat in Republican hands — much as he’s managed to win nearly every office in the county for the GOP in recent years. Nonetheless, Democrats are pumping even more resources into the race than the GOP, Semafor’s Kadia Goba and Dave Weigel write, “because winning back the [former GEORGE] SANTOS seat would solve multiple problems for them” — with both the broader political narrative and congressional margins. The outcome of the race could be a bellwether for how the battle for the suburbs will play out across the country this fall: Democrats probably need to win districts like New York’s 3rd to take back the House. In the closely divided district, which Bloomberg’s Laura Nahmias and Mia Gindis call both “a place of fabulous wealth” and “a place of storied grievances,” Pilip has kept a very low profile, instead allowing ads focused on immigration to steer the narrative for her. Democrat TOM SUOZZI is largely playing defense on the issue, while working to link Pilip to Santos and highlighting abortion access. In recent days, Pilip has gotten less shy about embracing DONALD TRUMP, our New York Playbook colleagues note. Meanwhile, a major storm could disrupt Election Day voting with perhaps half a foot of snow — which typically would be more of an albatross for Republicans. What to watch: Steve Shepard tells Score’s Madison Fernandez that Nassau County will be critical — that’s where Santos pulled ahead of ROBERT ZIMMERMAN in 2022. And Ally Mutnick notes that the outcome will provide some answers about whether Democrats can successfully answer Republicans’ immigration attacks — or if allowing the GOP to dictate the terms of the race was a mistake. IMMIGRATION DEEP DIVE — “How Biden botched the border,” by Axios’ Alex Thompson and Stef Kight: “[T]he Biden administration’s struggle with the border crisis during the past three years [has involved] infighting, blame-shifting and indecision. … Much of the current crisis is rooted in factors Biden’s team has had little control over … Many administration leaders treated the issue like a hot potato because it was politically thankless.” Among the many agencies and individuals coming in for blame:
- The State Department, which “dragged its feet for years in setting up regional processing centers.” (State disputes this.)
- VP KAMALA HARRIS, who one former senior official says “has been at best ineffective, and at worst sporadically engaged.”
- Homeland security adviser LIZ SHERWOOD-RANDALL, whom some considered ineffective.
- The White House, which publicly downplayed the problem for a while.
- Domestic policy adviser SUSAN RICE vs. … almost everyone, but especially HHS Secretary XAVIER BECERRA: Axios reports that she privately called him a “bitch-ass” and an “idiot,” and that she once passed DHS Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS a note that said “Don’t save him” when Biden was castigating Becerra at a meeting. (Rice categorically denies this.)
Good Monday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
| | | | A message from American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers: EPA is set to finalize a regulation designed to end the sale of new gas and diesel cars regardless of what drivers want, need, and can afford. Polling shows that Americans think the Biden EPA is moving too far, too fast. President Biden: Stop the EPA’s car ban. Vehicle policies can’t just work for some of us. They should work for all of us. | | | | | 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  The pace of legal developments in Donald Trump's various court cases isn't letting up this week. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo | 1. TRUMP’S LEGAL FLURRY: Trump’s attorneys have to file an emergency motion with the Supreme Court by the end of today to stave off the start of his federal criminal election subversion trial, after lower courts ruled against him on presidential immunity, per AP’s Mark Sherman. At the same time, Trump arrived in Fort Pierce, Florida, this morning for a pivotal closed-door hearing in his federal criminal classified documents case, per CNN’s Katelyn Polantz and Hannah Rabinowitz. The pace won’t relent later this week: On Thursday, a New York judge could schedule Trump’s criminal hush-money case for trial, potentially in March. And on Friday, Judge ARTHUR ENGORON is expected to hand down his ruling in the civil business fraud trial, which could deal a massive financial and reputational blow to the former president, NYT’s Ben Protess, Jonah Bromwich and William Rashbaum report. Related read: “Unprecedented assignment: Defending Donald Trump in criminal court,” by WaPo’s Perry Stein, Shayna Jacobs, Josh Dawsey and Amy Gardner: “With four criminal indictments and multiple civil cases, the former president has built the equivalent of a boutique law firm.” 2. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Biden has been getting even more negative about Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU in private lately, calling him an “asshole,” “this guy” (which is just as harsh coming from Biden) and the main impediment to getting Israel to stop killing so many Palestinian civilians, NBC’s Carol Lee, Jonathan Allen, Peter Nicholas and Courtney Kube scooped. The frankness “has surprised some of those on the receiving end of his comments,” but — for now at least — it belies a refusal to take more of these criticisms public or substantively change American policy on the Israel-Hamas war. Biden is expected to work on resolving the regional conflict when he meets this afternoon with King ABDULLAH II of Jordan, as AP’s Colleen Long reports that negotiators believe they’ve basically locked in the framework for a cease-fire/hostage release deal. 3. THE OTHER IMPEACHMENT: “Dem staff bashes GOP impeachment inquiry in new memo,” by Punchbowl’s Max Cohen: “Democratic staff on the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees are arguing that recent developments in the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden have further exonerated the president from any wrongdoing.” The memo
| | | | YOUR VIP PASS TO THE MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE: Dive into the heart of global security with POLITICO's Global Playbook at the 2024 Munich Security Conference. Gain exclusive insights and in-depth analysis as author Suzanne Lynch navigates the crucial discussions, key players and emerging trends that will shape the international security landscape. Subscribe now to Global Playbook and stay informed. | | | | | 4. VEEPSTAKES: Sen. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.) is increasingly seen as a strong contender to be tapped as Trump’s running mate, NBC’s Allan Smith reports from Charleston, South Carolina. Says one person who’s talked to both Trump and Scott: “It’s real … And he’d take the job in a second.” But don’t count out Sen. J.D. VANCE (R-Ohio) and Rep. ELISE STEFANIK (R-N.Y.), both of whom are gunning for the spot by parroting Trump’s revisionist narrative about the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and 2020 election falsehoods, CNN’s Melanie Zanona and Annie Grayer report. Another angle from Vance: He put out a memo today arguing that Senate Republicans shouldn’t pass the national security supplemental because it could tee up Trump to be impeached again if he doesn’t spend the Ukraine aid money, per Burgess Everett. The memo 5. A NEW APPROACH: “Medicaid’s prescription for health includes food and housing in some states,” by WaPo’s Amy Goldstein: “A growing number of states are broadening the health-coverage program into a hub for fulfilling social needs: helping with housing and transportation, easing past prison life and domestic violence, and providing … canned goods and perishables … With the encouragement of the Biden administration, Medicaid is threading health-related social needs into the program.” 6. THE NEW GOP: Trump’s opinions have become so central to Republicans’ political fortunes that they’ve somewhat supplanted scorecards from Heritage Action, which used to be essential for Hill Republicans, NOTUS’ Oriana González reports. “Even conservative lawmakers who were once big Heritage Action allies now say there’s distance between the group and lawmakers.” And the likes of Rep. MIKE KELLY (R-Pa.), who has a 49% from Heritage this term but is close with Trump, aren’t worried about running afoul of the group. 7. HOW CLOSE WE CAME: “Two Weeks of Chaos,” by Talking Points Memo’s Josh Kovensky: “[T]here was an alternate scenario gamed out by Trump’s lawyers — one that would have expanded the hours of indecision caused by the Trump campaign’s efforts and stretched out the process for weeks, all the way until Jan. 20, 2021, the Constitution’s ironclad deadline for the transfer of power. If their scheme succeeded, these lawyers hoped, Joe Biden would never take office. The details of this scheme are being revealed here for the first time. They are drawn from a trove of documents provided to Michigan prosecutors by Trump attorney KENNETH CHESEBRO.”
| | | | 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 | | Elon Musk, J.D. Vance, Vivek Ramaswamy, David Sacks and Mike Lee will be on an X Spaces conversation about the Ukraine aid bill this evening. Lloyd Austin scuttled a trip to Brussels after being hospitalized. George H.W. Bush’s speedboat is going up for auction. Virginia Foxx won’t brook any elevator nonsense. SPOTTED: Christine Lagarde at the Foggy Bottom Trader Joe’s this morning. IN MEMORIAM — “‘The voice we woke up to’: Bob Edwards, longtime ‘Morning Edition’ host, dies at 76,” by NPR’s Lynn Neary: He was a “veteran broadcaster and longtime host of Morning Edition who left an indelible mark on NPR’s sound … Edwards’ seeming casualness belied a seriousness — about radio, about the news and especially about the art of writing.” TRANSITIONS — Mary Thomas is joining Job Creators Network as chief strategic growth officer. She previously was executive director of strategic development at the America First Legal Foundation, and is a Club for Growth Foundation, CatholicVote and Trump DOJ alum. … Alexandra Seymour is now staff director for the House Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee. She previously was a professional staff member for the Senate Commerce Committee. … Wes Shaw is now corporate comms strategist at Navy Federal Credit Union. He most recently was director of executive comms and public relations at the National Association of Realtors. 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 Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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