Playbook PM: An exclusive new poll on Ketanji Brown Jackson

Feb 28, 2022

By Ryan Lizza, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

Presented by

Good Wednesday afternoon. We have some fresh survey data to share about public attitudes towards President JOE BIDEN's Supreme Court nominee, KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, via the latest POLITICO/Morning Consult survey. Highlights below.

But first, here's what you need to know about the war:

THE LATEST ON THE GROUND …

— Russia's attack intensified today as rocket strikes (suspected cluster munitions) killed 11 people and injured dozens in residential areas of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, per Ukrainian officials. More from Reuters … Meanwhile, Kyiv came under heavy assault, as the military intelligence headquarters was hit, explosions sounded and street fighting erupted in the capital.

— The latest assessment from U.S. defense officials: No signs yet of a change to Russian nuclear forces' strategic posture. And no signs of Belarusian troops yet operating in Ukraine or getting ready to invade. But the U.S. thinks Russia will try to surround Kyiv in the coming days, and officials are concerned that Russia's unexpected difficulties thus far could make it get more aggressive. Russian forces got five kilometers closer to Kyiv since Sunday, and are now 25 kilometers away.

— Senate Intelligence Vice Chair MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.) is continuing to tweet alarming updates about Russia's nuclear capabilities.

— Ukrainian and Russian officials concluded their meeting in Belarus, with statements indicating the potential for follow-up talks.

— Russia closed its airspace to three dozen countries' carriers, retaliation for similar moves from the EU and Canada.

— Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY is urging the U.S. and NATO to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine, Axios' Jonathan Swan, Zachary Basu and Sophia Cai report. But press secretary JEN PSAKI said on MSNBC this morning that a no-fly zone would not be a good idea because it would require direct engagement of the U.S. military — part of Biden's pledge not to send U.S. troops to the conflict.

— By the numbers: The U.N. high commissioner for refugees said 500,000 have now fled the country.

— Zelenskyy officially signed an application to join the EU this morning.

— Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN told French President EMMANUEL MACRON this morning that he would stop striking civilian targets, per ABC.

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THE SANCTIONS PICTURE …

The Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on Russia's central bank before markets opened this morning, in essence immediately barring Americans from transacting with the CBR and freezing its U.S. assets. The U.K. announced much the same. In response, the bank more than doubled interest rates and released billions of dollars in reserves. More details from CNBC … The Treasury announcement

The sanctions could hit hardest by undermining the ruble, potentially "one of President Vladimir V. Putin's greatest weaknesses," NYT's Patricia Cohen and Jeanna Smialek write in a look at the mechanics of how the West is undermining Russia's central bank.

To wit: The ruble plunged in what's expected to be its worst single-day drop in history, per the WSJ.

MORE REACTION FROM THE WEST …

— Ukrainian Ambassador OKSANA MARKAROVA will visit the Capitol this evening to speak with senators, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.

— FIFA and UEFA will ban Russia and toss it out of World Cup qualifying, NYT's Tariq Panja reports. The International Olympic Committee had earlier recommended today that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be barred from international athletic competitions as punishment for the war.

— The U.S. shut down its embassy in Belarus. More from Foreign Policy

— Meta said it took down a disinformation network spreading anti-Ukraine propaganda on social media. They said it was "relatively small" and got stopped early. The company also flagged a hacking campaign, apparently successful in some cases, to take over the accounts of Ukrainian leaders and journalists. More from CNN

JUDICIARY SQUARE

NEW KBJ DATA, from our latest polling:

— By 46%-17%, voters say they want Jackson confirmed. But a big slice of the public (36%) told us they didn't know or haven't formed an opinion yet. The race is on to win over that undecided bloc.

— Further evidence of how undefined Jackson is to many Americans came from a question about whether voters had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of her. Favorable: 27%; unfavorable: 14%.

Most voters either have heard of her but don't have an opinion (28%) or have never heard of her.

Those numbers are clearly a function of Jackson's nomination being announced the day after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Forty-one percent of voters said they have seen, read or heard "not much" or "nothing at all" about her nomination to replace Justice STEPHEN BREYER.

— Finally, score one for American civics education. When we asked voters about how Jackson's nomination would change the ideology of the Supreme Court, 36% said it will remain the same, 22% said it will become somewhat more liberal, and 12% said it will become much more liberal. Only 6% thought the court would move to the right. (Twenty-four percent didn't know.) Toplines … Crosstabs

JACKSON JUMPS IN — Jackson will have her first meetings with senators Wednesday as she builds up to her Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Laura Barrón-López reports. Jackson will meet with Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER, Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL, Judiciary Chair DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) and Judiciary ranking member CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-Iowa). And Senate Dems are eyeing March 21 to start hearings, Marianne LeVine reports in Congress Minutes.

— Prominent conservative judge J. MICHAEL LUTTIG endorsed Jackson for the high court today, CNN's Jamie Gangel and Ariane de Vogue scooped.

TOP-ED — ANITA HILL has a new piece out in URL Media celebrating Jackson's nomination: "A Court that reflects America offers the possibility of different approaches and worldviews that can respond to calls from populations marginalized because of their identities. The promise of this historic moment is in its potential to make the law fairer and give more people confidence that our courts are truly representative."

SUBSCRIBE TO NATIONAL SECURITY DAILY : Keep up with the latest critical developments from Ukraine and across Europe in our daily newsletter, National Security Daily. The Russian invasion of Ukraine could disrupt the established world order and result in a refugee crisis, increased cyberattacks, rising energy costs and additional disruption to global supply chains. Go inside the top national security and foreign-policymaking shops for insight on the global threats faced by the U.S. and its allies and what actions world leaders are taking to address them. Subscribe today.

CONGRESS

ANOTHER RETIREMENT — Rep. TED DEUTCH (D-Fla.) won't run for reelection and instead will take a leadership position with the American Jewish Committee, CBS 4 Miami's Jim DeFede reports . Deutch has been in Congress for more than a decade; he's the latest House Dem to head for the exits in a historic wave of retirements and an expected difficult midterms year. More from Jewish Insider

PRE-SOTU READING

THE PUTIN EFFECT — Biden has been forced to shift some of the focus of his State of the Union speech in recent days to talk about the war in Ukraine, WaPo's Annie Linskey and Tyler Pager report. The new, more foreign policy-heavy version of the speech "will reflect the way the crisis has added urgency to his longtime theme of defending democracies."

While the speech is still in flux, early drafts also included some specific policy announcements, they report, "including a possible new push for sweeping legislation that would provide relief for military veterans suffering illnesses from burn pits" and "support for an effort to restrict members of Congress from trading individual stocks."

PANDEMIC MESSAGING — Even as the Biden administration prepares for a calmer phase of the pandemic, Biden on Tuesday will "stop well short of the mission accomplished moment on Covid that many members of his own party would like to see," Adam Cancryn and Sarah Owermohle report.

ALL POLITICS

2024 WATCH — The RNC site selection committee is in Nashville today, touring the city as a possible prospect for hosting the next GOP convention. We're told former Senate Majority Leader BILL FRIST, former Gov. BILL HASLAM and Gov. BILL LEE are making the "hard sells" and joining the RNC on the tours.

DEMS IN DISARRAY — WaPo's Michael Scherer, Sean Sullivan and Tyler Pager open their story on Democrats' 2022 strategy with this striking anecdote: When House Dem leaders met with Biden this month, they had to ask who the White House point person would be to work with them on the midterms. Now, Democrats say they've hit their stride with better coordination and millions more from the DNC. But "many lawmakers and strategists [are] questioning whether the White House's emphasis on political issues has been sufficient and whether there is still time to shift," with special concern about the economic message, WaPo writes.

THE PANDEMIC

NEW AT THE WHITE HOUSE — Masks will no longer be required on White House grounds for fully vaccinated people beginning Tuesday, per NYT's Katie Rogers.

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

CLIMATE SIREN — A new report from the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that inaction on climate change is already killing people and the situation will only get much worse: "Some parts of the planet will become uninhabitable," one of the experts said. As we reported this morning, some Biden advisers are worried that the war in Ukraine could undermine the American political drive to take climate action. More on the report from USA Today … The report

PLAYBOOKERS

The White House News Photographers Association announced the results of its annual Eyes of History visual journalism contest. Among the winners: Brendan Smialowski of AFP for still photographer of the year and political photo of the year; Ben Martin of ITN Channel 4 News for video photographer of the year; McKenna Ewen of CNN for video editor of the year; and Angelica Maria Casas of BBC News for multimedia visual journalist of the year. All the winners and their work

IN MEMORIAM — Hudson Institute chair emeritus Walter P. "Wally" Stern died Sunday at 93. "Wally was the Hudson Institute's 'North Star' during his tenure, guiding the organization through the administrations of ten US presidents and three interstate headquarters moves from New York to Indianapolis and now Washington, D.C." Full obituary

— Richard Blum, a San Francisco financier and the husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), died Sunday at 86. "My heart is broken today," Feinstein said in a statement. "My husband was my partner and best friend for more than 40 years. He was by my side for the good times and for the challenges. I am going to miss him terribly." More from the S.F. Chronicle's Nanette Asimov

MEDIA MOVES — Axios is adding Jamie Stockwell as executive editor for Axios Local. She most recently was a deputy national editor at the NYT. Axios also is naming Michael Graff Southern bureau chief. Announcement … Fiona Glisson is now an associate producer at NBC News. She previously produced segments for PBS' "Washington Week" and reported for the show's website, and is a CBS and ABC alum. … It's official now: Chris Licht will be the new head of CNN.

TRANSITIONS — Joseline Mata is now political director for Sen. Maggie Hassan's (D-N.H.) reelect. She most recently was at the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and is an alum of other Senate campaigns. … Hassanatu Savage is joining Deloitte as a government and public sector consultant. She previously was a defense, immigration and national security legislative correspondent for Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

WEEKEND WEDDING — Jennifer Fox, VP of political affairs at Finseca, and Jonathan Simons, associate VP of digital advocacy at NCTA, got married Saturday on a sunset cruise in Key West. They originally met while both working at the National Restaurant Association. Pic … Another pic

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Ritika Rodrigues Robertson, public policy manager at Meta and a Ken Buck alum, and Jeff Robertson, SVP at Federal Capital Partners and a Deloitte alum, recently welcomed William Jefferson Robertson. Pic

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