Subject: POLITICO Playbook, presented by BP: TAX REFORM REVEAL DAY -- What KEVIN BRADY will say to House GOP -- ISENSTADT SCOOP: Pro-Trump group plans 100M in 2018 -- DOVERE’s Pelosi profile -- REINCE breaks bread with COREY and INSIDE Rand’s Roy Moore fundraiser
From: "Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2017 04:29:10 -0600
List-Id: <1376319_7177025.xt.local>

View online version  |  Add [email-masked] to your address book. 

     

Today's POLITICO Playbook presented by BP 
            
By JAKE SHERMAN ([email-masked]; @JakeSherman), ANNA PALMER ([email-masked]; @apalmerdc) and DANIEL LIPPMAN ([email-masked]; @dlippman)
        
Listen to today's Audio Briefing | Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Visit the online home of Playbook
                  Driving the Day         
Good Thursday morning and happy tax-reform reveal day! 

WHAT TODAY WILL LOOK LIKE ...

-- 9 A.M.: House Republicans are meeting in room 1100 in the Longworth House Office Building. It's not their normal meeting space -- this is the Ways and Means meeting room, where the GOP holds its leadership elections. The House actually met in this room when the chamber was under construction in 1949 and 1950. It holds 450 people, has massive ceilings and impressive details.

WAYS AND MEANS CHAIRMAN KEVIN BRADY -- probably a pretty happy camper after his Astros took the World Series from the Dodgers in seven games -- has a PowerPoint prepared to walk lawmakers through the plan. 

ONE OF HIS PREPARED LINES, which he's borrowing from Ronald Reagan's remarks when he signed the last tax reform package in 1986: "I feel like we just played the World Series of tax reform - and the American people won." Expect this meeting to last until around 10:30 a.m.

-- 10:30 A.M.: BRADY briefs reporters on the bill -- embargoed for 11:15 a.m. Many early details will leak out of the House GOP Conference meeting at 9 a.m. But expect the meaty stories to land around 11:15 a.m.

-- 11:15 A.M.: The bill drops, and you'll get Brady, SPEAKER PAUL RYAN (R-Wis.), HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-Calif.), WHIP STEVE SCALISE (R-LA.), GOP CONFERENCE CHAIR CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS (WASH.) REP. PETER ROSKAM (R-Ill.) and REP. KRISTI NOEM (R-S.D.) on camera in the Ways and Means Committee room. 

-- IN THE NOON HOUR: Ryan gives his first on-air one-on-one interview to CNN's Phil Mattingly. He'll also do Fox News with Dana Perino at 2:30 p.m.

-- 1:30 P.M.: Ways and Means Republicans go to the White House to meet with PRESIDENT TRUMP. Ryan and McCarthy will also attend.

ALWAYS BE SELLING -- BRADY'S TV SCHEDULE: 4 P.M.: Fox News' "Your World with Neil Cavuto" ... 4:20 P.M.: Pre-tape with the "PBS Newshour" ... 4:45 P.M.: Live on CNBC with Ylan Mui at 4:45 p.m. ... 5 P.M.: and do a 5 p.m. live hit on MSNBC's "MTP Daily."

IT'S PHOTO DAY! -- The House photo is today around 3:30 p.m.

-- YOU'RE INVITED: BRADY'S FIRST PUBLIC Q AND A: Friday at noon, with JAKE and ANNA. WHERE: The Newseum (555 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW). WHEN: Doors open at 11:30 a.m., program starts at NOON. RSVP  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=efcb55cb8a604cd127ca4988762a9e2c37d96bb62b731faccf6264b8c0fd9eaa0e3dd52fc771ac28c32facb022a32066

KNOW WHEN THE BILL DROPS -- The House Republican Conference will let you know when the bill is live if you text "TAX REFORM" to 50589.

HAPPENING TODAY - Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will speak at 2:30 p.m. eastern at the International Franchise Association's Franchise Expo West in Los Angeles and will talk about tax reform. Livestream here http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=efcb55cb8a604cd1909b7484e8a27a83b7a32fe6017779a9345dc7f96931c488f4ad4dd3ffaedee654ac94c1934b7232

IMPORTANT DETAILS ...

-- BRIAN FALER and RACHAEL BADE: "Brady hedged when asked whether a crucial part of the plan, a long-promised tax cut for corporations, would be permanent. 'That's our goal, and I think it's going to take several steps through the process to achieve that,' he said, referring to 'awfully funny' Senate procedural rules requiring any permanent tax changes to be paid for. Lawmakers, lobbyists and others have speculated that the cut would have to be temporary or phased in over a number of years to comply with Senate budget rules that allow Republicans to get around a Democratic filibuster. ...

"It's still unclear whether the modification to the state and local tax deduction will win over Republicans from New York, California and New Jersey. Even after meeting Tuesday with Vice President Mike Pence and speaking with Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin by phone, Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin was adamant Wednesday that the deduction -- which also includes state and local income and sales taxes -- be salvaged in its entirety." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=09f217b0144d61c1186b99c722259fea22952d4c141d289ee927b0dcb68b6b9f1dd53ec57dfd6e04f4ca5c150086476f 

-- ANOTHER TAKE: WSJ'S SIOBHAN HUGHES, RICH RUBIN and KRISTINA PETERSON: "The corporate tax rate cut will be permanent, not set to expire, according to a person familiar with the plan. The plan won't include changes to the individual mandate to purchase health insurance, the person said. The plan also won't make major changes to 401(k) retirement plans. President Donald Trump had backed the health-insurance idea and opposed changes to retirement plans." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=09f217b0144d61c1652119d5cda79ac32f4d59c50842436e23968990665432e2a7aa7f8ee60050df8d454838404ca495

REMEMBER: This is the first phase of tax reform. Getting it through the House is a big hill to climb -- but it still needs to get through the Senate.

UNDERSTAND THE BILL -- POLITICO PRO's Guide to Tax Reform has everything you need to know in one handy guide. Download http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=09f217b0144d61c1f989cbad1b305fe8c88188d981cae10b3531a8803a1514e080d77c4260f170b295287eb247e1ca2f 

THE REINFORCEMENTS -- ALEX ISENSTADT: "President Donald Trump's super PAC is drawing up plans to spend $100 million on an all-out push to sell tax reform and elect pro-Trump Republicans in 2018. The group, dubbed America First Action, is expected to host a fundraiser in the coming months that will be attended by Vice President Mike Pence and is in talks with the administration to get Trump to headline an event. It has tapped oil and gas mogul Harold Hamm, a Trump ally whose net worth exceeds $11 billion, to boost its fundraising campaign. And it is recruiting major Republican Party donors across the country." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=09f217b0144d61c1ac62817f4da1518a0c1be5629f3faa0acd56dbbeb30adf2bb336b4f82ae62f5c1c5c789989ae6cbb

WHAT MCCARTHY WANTS YOU TO READ -- FT: "U.S. tax reform will boost innovation and entrepreneurship: The Republicans' plan will streamline the code and grow our economy" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=09f217b0144d61c1bd0459bb9de0ee6206d715bf00f546ec119aadf4044983b33f923cc5b4bf4f388459c70b906461f8 

-- WHAT REPUBLICANS DON'T WANT YOU TO READ: "Realtors Launch Blitz to Block GOP Tax Proposals," by WSJ's Julie Bykowicz: "After House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) warned last year that he may not be able to fully save tax incentives they view as crucial to their industry, members of the National Association of Realtors started developing an action plan, the group's officials said. Among their goals: preserving deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes, both of which GOP lawmakers have targeted as a way to pay for lowering certain tax rates. The Realtors recently deployed personalized digital advertisements in every district of House Ways and Means Committee members asking
 constituents to remind the lawmakers not to "let tax reform become a tax increase for middle class homeowners." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=09f217b0144d61c1bd8899b800ee94a74dce4e5a0e5c09171042388d5aa26dbd87a3090a4efb0d0bf1265d483ee0667a 

CLARIFICATION -- Yesterday afternoon we wrote that Trump wanted to call the GOP tax bill the "Cuts, Cuts, Cuts." He actually wanted to call it "The Cut, Cut, Cut Act." Either way -- it was a nonstarter for Republicans, who actually want to focus their effort on reforming the tax code -- not cuts -- to voters.

SPOTTED: JARED KUSHNER and Middle East envoy JASON GREENBLATT visiting chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who recently had lung surgery in Fairfax, Virginia. Pic  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=09f217b0144d61c107a86516dc34e48d3d035dbd0a626623422a976f90719d2712cae57846a9d6a19f6ebea0ab47db84

****** A message from BP: We produced and refined 1.3 million barrels per day of oil and natural gas last year - enough energy to light the entire country. Flip through our Economic Impact Report to learn more. ******

THE LATEST ON THE NEW YORK TERROR ATTACK ...
 
TRUMP CALLS FOR EXECUTION -- NYT'S PETER BAKER: "Shortly before midnight, the president took it a step further, posting a message on Twitter declaring that the suspect, Sayfullo Saipov, should be executed. 'NYC terrorist was happy as he asked to hang ISIS flag in his hospital room,' he wrote, referring to the driver's reported interest in the Islamic State extremist group. 'He killed 8 people, badly injured 12. SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!'
 
 "Presidents are typically advised never to weigh in on pending criminal cases because such comments can be used by defense lawyers to argue that their clients cannot get a fair trial -- especially when the head of the executive branch that will prosecute the charges advocates the ultimate punishment before a judge has heard a single shred of evidence at trial. But Mr. Trump has disregarded such advice in other instances, as well.

 "The president's vocal response to the attack framed the emerging politics of the case. While the White House deemed it unseemly to have a policy debate on gun control immediately after the massacre in Las Vegas last month, Mr. Trump was eager on Wednesday to have a policy debate on immigration. He pressed Congress to cancel a visa lottery program that allowed the driver into the country, attributing it to Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, and called Democrats 'obstructionists' who 'don't want to do what's right for our country.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=09f217b0144d61c1e8470a467a8c34b6121edc346f1c3bef06f5563a041e875a79a500ecbaae44fc229be82d35156e1b 

-- "Finding a Rootless Life in U.S., Sayfullo Saipov Turned to Radicalism," by NYT's Kim Barker, Joseph Goldstein and Michael Schwirtz: "As with any attack like this, there is no single reason Mr. Saipov reportedly decided to kill innocents, mostly tourists enjoying a blustery fall day, 56 degrees with blue skies. He had come to the United States as a moderate Muslim with dreams of making it. He married another Uzbek immigrant and fathered three children. But life did not work out the way Mr. Saipov had wanted. He could not find a job in the hotel business, in which he had worked back home. He developed a violent temper. He lost jobs. An imam in Florida worried that Mr. Saipov increasingly
 misinterpreted Islam." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=09f217b0144d61c141bdaa1aa46067316e4771f6cfce12949dcaf6cc0edeb6cff6ff08ed7ecae0059f880a4f5fe92a17

-- WSJ OP-ED: "Trump's Immigration Scapegoat: The diversity visa program is far from the main terror threat." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=863e35843c9b664361728b5e2418b26ec5c8e2e9f24689508942eaec16ad45ff04816a90ec81a449ba7b3fc386b20f7a

COLLATERAL DAMAGE -- "Trump vs. Schumer gets ugly," by John Bresnahan and Seung Min Kim: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=863e35843c9b6643ab5b71f53e00651054489871cdc9354ca77aa3848d28f04e4a75f9e9abe6b49ca9b660a1a915fa7d

****** A message from BP: We generated about $67 billion in economic value for the U.S. last year. Take 15 seconds to see what that means to American jobs and businesses. ******

THE PRESIDENT'S MOOD -- "In Call With Times Reporter, Trump Projects Air of Calm Over Charges," by NYT's Maggie Haberman and Peter Baker: "President Trump projected an air of calm on Wednesday after charges against his former campaign chief and a foreign policy aide roiled Washington, insisting to The New York Times that he was not 'angry at anybody' and that investigations into his campaign's links to Russia had not come near him personally. 'I'm not under investigation, as you know,' Mr. Trump said in a brief telephone call late Wednesday afternoon. 

"Pointing to the indictment of his former campaign chief, Paul Manafort, the president said, 'And even if you look at that, there's not even a mention of Trump in there.' 'It has nothing to do with us,' Mr. Trump said. He also pushed back against a report published Monday night by The Washington Post, which the president said described him as 'angry at everybody' 'I'm actually not angry at anybody,' Mr. Trump told The Times." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=863e35843c9b6643dc18c9146f47b6105bfe28aa0ed06406ce2d316d724fca4a25914329d4a6dea8db1328774c2eb10f

FED WATCH -- ALSO HAPPENING TODAY -- "Trump to announce Powell as next Fed chair today," by Ben White and Victoria Guida: "President Donald Trump will announce his intention to nominate Jerome "Jay" Powell as the next chair of the Federal Reserve at 3 p.m. on Thursday, two administration officials said. Plans are under way to introduce Powell as the nominee to succeed Janet Yellen, whose first term expires in February, the administration officials said.

"Powell, who first joined the central bank's board of governors in 2012 under President Barack Obama and then was renominated in 2014, is not expected to deviate heavily from Yellen's gradual approach to raising interest rates. He is widely viewed as a safe pick, though he was not the first choice of conservatives on Capitol Hill and inside the administration, who argued in favor of other candidates including former Fed Gov. Kevin Warsh and Stanford economist John Taylor." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=863e35843c9b6643611be7a356863eb2633856848826422dde2f2662aa312b7da5a1d7f1ea748f4a4696913db30179ee

BEHIND THE SCENES -- "Inside the rise and fall of Gary Cohn's Fed dreams," by Ben White and Nancy Cook: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=863e35843c9b664336ae499d118c507898bdf91788f49285f1fd39060b71a4e48c0bb1388d251c0ac7a7a1354e795240

ISAAC DOVERE in Politico Magazine -- "Nancy Pelosi Has Trump Right Where She Wants Him": "Nancy Pelosi was upset, but holding it in. Donald Trump was in a good mood, and letting it out. 'I think we'll get things done,' Trump told her. It was November 9, the afternoon after the election. The House minority leader had called Trump Tower to congratulate the president-elect. 'I know what you do,' Trump told her. 'You're somebody that gets things done, better than anybody.' 'Don't forget, I was a supporter of yours, a good one,' Trump said toward the end of the conversation, recalling his history as a reliable Democratic donor, according to a transcript provided by a person familiar with the
 call. 'I think you're terrific. That was in my developer life, my business life.'

"Ten months later, Trump's was a White House life, and after growing frustrated with his own party, he was back to working with Democrats, saying Pelosi was terrific. It must be weird, I said to Pelosi on the phone-for all she's seen in her career, having grown up in politics and served 30 years in the House of Representatives- now to be dealing with Trump as president. The line was quiet for 10 seconds. She held out for the comic timing. 'Am I supposed to comment on that?' she said. 'Remember one thing: He is the president of the United States,' she said, when I pressed her. 'That may be weird, but once you get past that ...'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=863e35843c9b6643a3026d0e98e3cb702ce29dd676fe4b7424da63b6caf488ca56ac5604b7d8cdd5d812b97a9b62748d ... Bonus "Off
 Message" podcast with Pelosi  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=863e35843c9b6643d6ea7dd2cd602ebdb292521903d05ad01559c87179491ac27299cbe99c24406976cb704d7197c35c 

-- "Inside Hillary Clinton's Secret Takeover of the DNC," by Donna Brazile, in a POLITICO Magazine excerpt of her new book "Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House": "My predecessor, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, had not been the most active chair in fundraising at a time when President Barack Obama's neglect had left the party in significant debt. ... Debbie was not a good manager. She hadn't been very interested in controlling the party-she let Clinton's headquarters in Brooklyn do as it desired so she didn't have to inform the party officers how bad the situation was. ... 

"The Saturday morning after the convention in July, I called Gary Gensler, the chief financial officer of Hillary's campaign. He wasted no words. He told me the Democratic Party was broke and $2 million in debt. ... On the phone Gary told me the DNC had needed a $2 million loan, which the campaign had arranged. ... He described the party as fully under the control of Hillary's campaign, which seemed to confirm the suspicions of the Bernie camp." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=863e35843c9b6643887b03ac8194dc3805a8409e08936d2ff39d5fedaed02821029f3352fb2ae4f1ab169cfd7c795ea2 ... $18.30 on Amazon  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=863e35843c9b6643b7d3550e9cb2ff4c2cfe38ec2d01696dff826667da35f814e8c1677947a5916bb80c346b6e724daa 

IMPORTANT READ -- "Russia hackers had targets worldwide, beyond U.S. election," by AP's Raphael Satter, Jeff Donn and Justin Myers: The hackers who upended the U.S. presidential election had ambitions well beyond Hillary Clinton's campaign, targeting the emails of Ukrainian officers, Russian opposition figures, U.S. defense contractors and thousands of others of interest to the Kremlin, according to a previously unpublished digital hit list obtained by The Associated Press.

"The list provides the most detailed forensic evidence yet of the close alignment between the hackers and the Russian government, exposing an operation that stretched back years and tried to break into the inboxes of 4,700 Gmail users across the globe - from the pope's representative in Kiev to the punk band Pussy Riot in Moscow." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ff8020d8cb436e70beb0980e7b37ce119d7f6f75e31b0fd3e36e2d47e105250c9c5b7984d3c25f9b6769481522fc3468

UNRAVELING RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE -- CLICKER: "The social media ads Russia wanted Americans to see: A batch of the ads was released Wednesday by members of the House intelligence panel" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ff8020d8cb436e70b7eb85b82160e8b52269f6f5e653f892703597169baf635bcdda8da23b04eea7a5e243b635c2cc5d

-- "Twitter Offered Russian TV Network 15% Of Its Total Share Of US Elections Advertising," by BuzzFeed's Alex Kantrowitz: "The social media company offered the Russian state-owned television network [RT] up to a 15% share of voice ('SOV') on US election advertising - or the percent of all ads run on that topic - for $3 million ... RT declined the offer." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ff8020d8cb436e7064ba0002d20beb617aeb3ba635624cd344cbba73a48767f5ef25a33412d836cd47afd92ac59cdb6a

-- "Michael Flynn Followed Russian Troll Accounts, Pushed Their Messages in Days Before Election," by the Daily Beast's Ben Collins and Kevin Poulsen: "Former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn followed five Twitter accounts based out of the Russian-backed 'troll factory' in St. Petersburg-and pushed their messages at least three times in the month before the 2016 election. Over 2,750 troll accounts based out of the Kremlin-backed Internet Research Agency were made public by House investigators on Wednesday." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ff8020d8cb436e703e0377ce09b191aacee2e721fc7f945b0f3f721bee535284ef7230c331815627bbe063d0d1718f10

NEXT UP -- "Schiller tops list of high-profile witnesses before House Russia investigators," by CNN's Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb: "One of President Donald Trump's closest confidantes is speaking privately next week to congressional investigators looking into Russia meddling, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Keith Schiller ... is expected to appear next Tuesday before the House intelligence committee, according to two of the sources." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ff8020d8cb436e700fe9908d8c1111e2ac4620bfacdb64f1396ccd7351c5792a720275999910a2102121b4f08c25da2e

ABOUT THAT $12M FIGURE -- "Ex-British spy paid $168,000 for Trump dossier, U.S. firm discloses," by Reuters' Mark Hosenball: "Fusion GPS' statement said it had told Congress about how $168,000 was paid last year to Orbis Business Intelligence, Steele's company. The money paid to Orbis was taken from $1.02 million it received in fees and expenses from the Perkins Coie law firm, the statement said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ff8020d8cb436e70f7d8d40b6079745b72f8271e9cf08564f1e10931e3cd5277b05ced6e8f4d8d0c6e54b86f40e7470e

SPORTS BLINK -- "Hollywood ending! Astros beat Dodgers in Game 7 to win World Series," by Houston Chronicle's Jake Kaplan: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ff8020d8cb436e703a2abe13db7897e09e2ad560b3960b67ad14076b33c1d74fbad0c06492ca0e5a37492b27e9f82517

                  Playbook Reads         

PHOTO DU JOUR: Former President Barack Obama greets Chance The Rapper as former first lady Michelle Obama looks on during a community concert at the Obama Foundation Summit on Nov. 1 in Chicago. | Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo

OBAMAWORLD -- "The strange, new-age Obama reunion," by Isaac Dovere in Chicago: "They're a long way from the White House. But here in the halls of the Marriott Marquis, covered in Barack Obama's old logo of a rising sun for the inaugural summit of his namesake foundation, Democrats were upbeat. Organizing matters! they gushed. Internationalism was cool. There was a morning meditation and yoga session, and an evening community concert with Chance the Rapper and The National.

"And in between breakout sessions with titles like 'The Adventure of Civility' and 'Who Narrates the World?,' people took pastel-colored chalk and filled out a blackboard customized with 'I hope _______.' (Samples: 'we speak better and listen,' 'Americans will see each other,' 'my nephews can escape toxic masculinity'). 'Therapeutic,' said one attendee. 'The sanity bubble,' said another. An alternate reality, all the attendees at the kickoff of Obama's new foundation acknowledged, some with nervous snickers, some with big, relieved belly laughs." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ff8020d8cb436e707a21f297658691022484103f9d6d3662e63de335aee33ea401752010dfc14fbdea7ef7a878609fe3

THE WALL, UPDATE -- "Border-Wall Bidders Plead for Trump's Help to Fend Off Opponents," by Bloomberg's Mark Niquette: "Construction companies worried about a backlash for working on President Donald Trump's proposed border wall are pushing for federal protections, including stopping cities and states from penalizing them, as a new battle erupts over his crackdown on illegal immigration. The Associated General Contractors of America wants Attorney General Jeff Sessions to sue to prevent states and localities from denying contracts or divesting from companies that participate in wall construction. The group also wants assurances that local authorities will provide reasonable protection for
 workers and equipment on job sites, as well as contractor reimbursement for security costs or damage from vandalism." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ff8020d8cb436e707dc9b7c6104039b1345c927df2a89c754e5cf3893f3bf560be97d8db6a13229a109d2a30fcc323ca 

THE OPIOID CRISIS UNCAPPED -- President Trump officially declared the opioid epidemic a "National Public Health Emergency." This morning at 8:00 a.m., POLITICO will host The Opioid Crisis: Crucial Next Steps (http://politi.co/2xNrFdb), sponsored by CVS Health, to discuss the policy challenges around fighting the opioid epidemic and to identify what states, regulators, and providers are doing to address it. What caused this national crisis? How did we get here? How bad is it? Launching at 9 a.m., check out the latest "POLITICO EXPLAINS" animated video series that pairs health care reporter Sarah Karlin-Smith with Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Matt Wuerker, for a whole new way of looking
 at the opioid crisis and potential solutions. Watch here at 9 a.m. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a70c3ce319ff685fb1b7f7086f8136642723a139f7f6b6d5ce255d94cfb69a3d61abcd683102f441e87497c398770b8 

-- DAN DIAMOND podcast with ATUL GAWANDE on "Pulse Check" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a70c3ce319ff6854630de4ffe66af311d800eb8491e63d3d9378240c2ccec52fa172a424382f6ca66b2a97be24fe495 

2018 WATCH -- "Utah Republican fuels speculation Hatch will retire," by Colin Wilhelm: "A Utah Republican added fuel to speculation that Senate Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) will retire and former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney may run for the seat. While on their way to the House floor, Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah) told another House Republican she expected Hatch, 83, to retire in 2018 at the end of his current term. Love said she would not run for Hatch's seat. The exchange took place in front of a POLITICO reporter.

"'No, but Hatch isn't sticking around,' Love said when asked whether she would run for the Senate if Hatch step down. 'We're trying to get Mitt,' Love added, referring to Romney." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a70c3ce319ff6852e178b66b684807a965ca3aa6522bdeea831fbba0ac5d411cc80c572279b430685634f9020aa2d15

VALLEY TALK -- "Facebook's Russian Ad Scandal Hasn't Fazed Advertisers," by BuzzFeed's Alex Kantrowitz: "[S]ome advertising industry executives are touting the episode as a testament to just how effective Facebook advertising can be. ... 'For better or worse, one key takeaway from this is how effective Facebook can be as an advertising medium,' Kyle Bunch, managing director of ad agency R/GA's social practice, told BuzzFeed News. 'Many advertisers are probably asking themselves, "How can I make better use of data to have my campaigns get those kind of results?'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a70c3ce319ff685eff0a2b53112ae16577229efb771fdda8aba2beea4ff5c7f13afadda1406e1bad4a0079f4a3a4fd3

MEDIAWATCH - "NPR bosses knew about harassment allegations, but kept top editor on job," by WaPo's Paul Farhi: "NPR's senior management was aware of multiple harassment complaints by women against its top newsroom executive during the past two years but took no action to remove him from his job until news reports about his conduct appeared on Tuesday. ... NPR's chief executive, Jarl Mohn, and chief legal officer, Jonathan Hart, were aware of all three allegations against Oreskes but didn't act to remove him until Tuesday, after publication of The Post article." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a70c3ce319ff6856992f620694bd2438f9b0d0b7717104ae6dc5c478e96d16709a50e6f5af76895bfe91c09931bc474

-- "Trump-aligned network courts O'Reilly," by Darren Samuelsohn and Jason Schwartz: "Newsmax, the conservative media network with strong ties to President Donald Trump, is courting disgraced former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly for a potential deal that would return him to cable television, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy told POLITICO on Wednesday. O'Reilly and his agent are scheduled to meet in New York next week with Ruddy to discuss a show on Newsmax TV, a three-year-old network that currently reaches 35 million households." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a70c3ce319ff68572121177bdaaa3fee3ae5837809b64176947cc03d15bc6f9cd4b95ed0c6ac322bae96fac24beefaa

-- "Sinclair Executive Ends Speculation About Possible Bill O'Reilly Hire," by the Hollywood Reporter's Jeremy Barr: "On a company earnings call Wednesday morning, Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO Chris Ripley threw water on one of the hottest rumors in media industry gossip circles: that the right-leaning broadcaster wants to scoop up free agent Bill O'Reilly. 'We get approached by people all the time, which is probably where these reports were coming from,' Ripley told analysts. 'He did approach us. We do not have any interest in hiring him.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a70c3ce319ff68505fc4f5949a33ed824a439588eb33b9c89df7251153e0ad5d11b5b29a4169323174126d377e60ce2 

-- "'A Different Level of Crazy': Is Civil War Breaking Out in the Wall Street Journal Over the Editorial Board's Coverage of Mueller?" by Vanity Fair's Joe Pompeo: "'The editorial page has been doing crazy s*** for a long time,' a former long-serving Wall Street Journal editor told me this week. ... While the paper has long been a leading bastion of conservative thinking, its editorial writers are known to take positions that are more extreme than many of their colleagues in the newsroom can stomach. ... [S]everal Journal veterans I spoke with described the current rift as among the more fractious they've witnessed." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a70c3ce319ff6852a2ed836d80b345e4028ac95234e6ebf46fb3f1e08bdb07093ddbdba7cbb45940da6cfb100a68c73

--ANTON TROIANOVSKI has been named the Washington Post's Moscow Bureau Chief. He most recently has covered Germany for the Wall Street Journal. 

SUNDAY SO FAR - "Fox News Sunday": Karl Rove, Rachael Bade, Jason Riley and Juan Williams

                  Playbookers         
SPOTTED: REINCE PRIEBUS having lunch yesterday with COREY LEWANDOWSKI in a corner booth at Capital Grille ... at 6:30 p.m. yesterday: former HHS Sec. Tom Price coming through the First Street entrance of the Cannon House Office Building. "Immediately recognized by broadly smiling Capitol Police, he said he was 'sneaking in the back door' and shared a long heartfelt hug with one of the officers, who said he missed the former congressman." 

SPOTTED at Capital Grille last night: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Reps. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Brian Babin (R-Texas), and David Valadao (R-Calif.).

SPOTTED last night at Rand Paul's fundraiser for Roy Moore at a private Capitol Hill townhouse: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Steve Bannon talking to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) (pic by Sergio Gor:  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=15432098c25b4656d8e133de459d33abc2f20218b8f0ce3a08d2234909d135a7b1e387fd52e3825f34d2f5d2286ffcba Kayla Moore, Matt Boyle, Andy Surabian, Rex Elsass, Brian Darling, Dudley Brown, John Yob, Drew Messer, Brett Doster, Colin Hanna, Danny Tarkanian, Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Trent Kelly (R-Miss.), and Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Ralph Reed.

FIRST LOOK -- "Meghan McCain's fianc&eacute; revealed," by Page Six's Mara Siegler and Emily Smith: "'The View' co-host Meghan McCain is engaged to Ben Domenech, a conservative writer and publisher of online magazine The Federalist ... The daughter of Sen. John McCain is expected to announce on the ABC show that she and Domenech, 35, also the writer of political insider newsletter The Transom, plan to tie the knot. ... Domenech ... is a former speechwriter who also co-founded the RedState conservative blog and regularly appears on Fox News and CNN." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1cfd18a8471ad25315dcedbf833bc3f2a8c340c9c81e78b119395c759328a64d89ee94789d98d37c7f4eeb88d43bf965

SPOTTED at the American Film Institute 50th anniversary event last night at the Library of Congress: George Stevens Jr., Dr. Carla Hayden, Howard Stringer, Robert Daly, Morgan Freeman, Bradley Cooper, Toby Emmerich, Christopher Nolan, Chris Silbermann, Patrick Steel and Lee Satterfield, John Bailey, Peter Jacoby, Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Megan Beyer, Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Madeleine Albright, Alan Greenspan, Andrea Mitchell, Marie Royce, Debbie Meadows, Todd Flournoy, Lyndon Boozer, Yebbie Watkins, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Susan Blumenthal.

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: WaPo Outlook editor Adam Kushner. How he's celebrating: "It's a little unseemly, in my humble opinion, to fete yourself for every new integer you cross after 25. Celebrations' should be reserved for multiples of five, and this isn't one of them. But I'm hoping my wife, Maria Simon, takes me to see a movie, 'Thor: Ragnarok,' obviously." Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1cfd18a8471ad25313bf2a1e6cf9865ad52628d69fff6bfc4359f2ec97fefedbb36f3bdf0cab9c405676c39ef7244f49 

BIRTHDAYS: David Sirota is 42 ... Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is 5-0 ... Pat Buchanan is 79 ... Katie Hogan ... Alan Abbey ... Jonathan Stahler, deputy chief of staff for Sen. Coons ... U.S. Travel's President and CEO Roger Dow ... Alex Markowits is 44 ... Bill Walsh, VP of integrated comms and marketing at AARP, is 53 ... Christopher Graves, president and founder of the Ogilvy Center for Behavioral Science ... John Sampson, director of federal gov't affairs for Microsoft ... Celeste Lavin, video producer at Getty Images ... Melanie Tiano, director of cybersecurity and privacy at CTIA ... Steve Hayes ... Anthony Zurcher, North America reporter for BBC News (h/t Ashley Gold) ... EPA's Sarah
 Greenwalt (h/t Lincoln Ferguson) ... Adam Froemming with the Washington Nationals (h/ts David Culver and Eric Reller) ...

... Tony Fazio is 7-0 ... Sheyla Asencios, political director at For Our Future ... Bush alum William Haldeman ... Monique Jenkins ... Barbara Surk ... Catherine Lyons ... Steven Capozzola ... Kayla Benker of Civis Analytics ... former Palin press advance man Clint Nichols ... Aaryn Kopp, chief of staff for digital at Edelman in DC ... Sarah Smith Elliott, managing director at the American European Business Association ... Bloomberg reporter Jen Dlouhy ... Warren Hoemann ... Hastings Woolston ... ... Mark Benjamin is 47 ... Raynel Knight ... Judy Vale ... Travis Hill ... Mike Vilmain ... Paula Zellner ... Anna Landmark ... Patty Judge (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

SUBSCRIBE to the Playbook family: POLITICO Playbook http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1cfd18a8471ad2538683ce26d3efaafdf4550ebb047e53f5c53983192c89de1d75f9bf886c30835ce5b5196b1f7fa3ab ... Playbook Power Briefing  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1cfd18a8471ad2534289c73a2996232980f6387cc5d4b84267aac250eee445e33ea13bfe1edc794d795c919a8551e75c ... New York Playbook  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1cfd18a8471ad2539d1c3124df435157ca11f6480c42f3e44b62dbcbcec0d28e1fcd542be00a02728614c505754734c0 ... Florida Playbook  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1cfd18a8471ad25392fea48de832d02cc281222cf86adf680ec9670d252fbe7991bdae74aa419767d9e5c9d921b121fd ... New Jersey Playbook http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1cfd18a8471ad253f0ce3bf67d1c26a4c26b6770c9e9a9736dd0ac44e40649850756af80ebaf31f4abbfe3727bf95e24 ... Massachusetts Playbook  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1cfd18a8471ad2537f879ffc994167a106f71171b40cdb2baedc734a62444f5d4ea0ad323991ea506cf54d91152e5a68 ... Illinois Playbook 
 http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1cfd18a8471ad2530ba071d3fd60c7181d179063553505643a3fd473d371a250ed9491388b348b311d19d29680968a16 ... California Playbook http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1cfd18a8471ad25313dff51c7ed0b1c1d0d7ad9f0cefe9346cfdddf81d0c0ed13f72a045a5c8f185be26c2818c10774f ... London Playbook  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=15432098c25b46566d59fe08cd8fab2fcd534595e794717dbc098fee51f8b8fa55d45fd90b5c38230d02df6a50c2de1f ... Brussels Playbook  
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=15432098c25b46562aaecffc67eb6352da1323a85b96d68a1681b7443e2a6f7f12c112be5e4b4fbf2ba041820bc26a2b ... All our political and policy tipsheets http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=15432098c25b465621c21e86428f75cae413cd8e2bfdeeb33304bdfd6825963256a1c0505d34cb6d87f4a65a86b84c38
    
View online

 To change your alert settings, please go to http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=15432098c25b46561f346db810ae0cf692a4397072d5b37e352c82ca0f09dd9b71a4dd25eb5545cff797726b6286ca72 or http://click.politicoemail.com/profile_center.aspx?qs=c1c81b2ef644fde1dd3c1f6178ef6a8ea3ee660992025bd4982a42218657190ca459f1c013d02233b2d61d5c63a626ac9a3967a642ca5b5c
This email was sent to [email-masked] by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

To unsubscribe,https://www.politico.com/_unsubscribe?e=0000015f-7c45-d4fa-abdf-fcff7ec10000&u=0000014e-f0fe-dd93-ad7f-f8fffbc40000&s=e7ea33449ea02abdaafaf9a538d7fe0268292d2c095dc788167c37be56a2154b4f669fb3769ea0b45a123c0f48733943e046c529bd9fd9980aefba772225bc5e