Subject: Playbook PM: McConnell moves to sidestep shutdown
From: "Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2018 11:55:10 -0600
List-Id: <1376319.xt.local>

Presented by the Stop The HIT Coalition: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day                Dec 19, 2018 View in browser                   
 By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, Daniel Lippman, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun 
         
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THE LATEST ... BURGESS EVERETT, ELIANA JOHNSON and SARAH FERRIS: "McConnell moves to avert shutdown disaster": "The Senate majority leader will introduce a bill that funds the government through Feb. 8 after a longer-term offer was rejected by congressional Democrats ... 

"[T]hough White House aides insist the president is not backing down, their public statements appear to be easing the way for him to keep the government open even if he doesn't get the money he wants for a border wall." POLITICO

WORD OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE ... As of last night, there seemed to be a hint of a recognition that they had to accept a short-term deal. But the mood has turned sour over there today, according to people we've spoken to. Stay tuned for some sense about whether they can take a stopgap to February. 

THIS IS A GIFT TO NANCY PELOSI, some Republicans and Democrats are arguing. ... She gets to stand up to PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP on the border wall again in February, after she's set up her caucus. Sure, it might get in the way of a spending caps deal, but the politics are generally good for Pelosi. A CONSERVATIVE HOUSE REPUBLICAN: "If we are going to lose, acknowledge it and do a CR for the rest of the fiscal year so that Nancy has no tool to leverage in February."

PELOSI on the CR: "This is a missed opportunity to pass full-year funding bills now. However, Democrats will be ready to fully, responsibly fund our government in January, and we will support this continuing resolution." 

-- NEW ... THE PRESSURE COOKER ... THE HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS -- and some of the president's most staunch allies -- will take to the floor this evening to urge TRUMP to not abandon his border wall promise and, in addition, to reform the catch-and-release policy. MEMBERS WHO WILL SPEAK include: MARK MEADOWS (N.C.), JIM JORDAN (OHIO), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Steve Pearce (N.M.), Jody Hice (Ga.), Ralph Norman (S.C.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.) and Morgan Griffith (Va.).

Happy Wednesday afternoon. SPOTTED: Incoming House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) dining with Robert Wolf at the Hunt and Fish Club in New York. The restaurant is owned, in part, by Anthony Scaramucci. Wolf is also a partner.

WAR REPORT ... WSJ'S DION NISSENBAUM and NANCY YOUSSEF: "U.S. Military Preparing for a Full Withdrawal of Its Forces From Syria": "The U.S. military is preparing to withdraw its forces from Syria, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday, a move that marks an abrupt reversal of the American military strategy in the Middle East.

"U.S. officials began informing partners in northeastern Syria of their plans to begin an immediate pullout of American forces from the region where they have been trying to wrap up the campaign against Islamic State, the people said. ... A pullout of Syria is still widely opposed by top officials in the White House and the Pentagon, and U.S. military officials have refused to say what a withdrawal will could look like. ... The move follows a call last week between President Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has threatened to launch an assault on America's Kurdish partners in Syria." WSJ

-- TRUMP tweeted at 9:29 a.m.: "We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency."

-- SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS STATEMENT: "We have started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign. The United States and our allies stand ready to re-engage at all levels to defend American interests whenever necessary."

-- ON THE OTHER HAND ... BRETT MCGURK, the special presidential envoy for the global coalition to defeat ISIS, told reporters last week: "Even as the end of the physical caliphate is clearly now coming into sight, the end of ISIS will be a much more long-term initiative. ... Nobody is declaring a mission accomplished. ... We know that once the physical space is defeated, we can't just pick up and leave." The State Department transcript

-- NAHAL TOOSI: "Pompeo to give Cairo address on U.S. role in Middle East": "Pompeo is expected to deliver his remarks in Cairo on or around Jan. 10, the State Department official said, cautioning that the plans could change. The Cairo visit will likely be part of a broader swing through the Middle East by Pompeo, with potential stops in Israel and nearby Arab states." POLITICO 
       
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BREAKING -- WAPO'S TONY ROMM, CRAIG TIMBERG and AARON DAVIS: "D.C. attorney general sues Facebook over alleged privacy violations from Cambridge Analytica scandal": "The lawsuit filed by Karl Racine, confirmed Wednesday by two people familiar with the matter but not authorized to speak on record, marks the first major effort by regulators in the United States to penalize the tech giant for its entanglement with the firm. It could presage even tougher fines and other punishments still to come for Facebook as additional state and federal investigations continue. ...

"[A] person familiar with the new D.C. lawsuit said it is likely to be amended in the future to include more recent allegations of improper data collection and use. This person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss matters not yet public, said several states also are pursuing investigations into Facebook." WaPo 

MARKET READING ... BEN WHITE: "How Trump the 'Tariff Man' could lose to 'Dow Man' Trump": "Free-traders inside and outside the White House are now hoping that Trump's love for new highs on Wall Street will temper his commitment to trade battles and help bring the current fight with China to a soft landing rather than total war next year. ... [I]nvestors early next year will pivot to the showdown between Trump and the Chinese. And pressure from Wall Street could push Trump to cut a deal." POLITICO

PAUL RYAN'S GOODBYE speech is at 1 p.m. Excerpts

2020 WATCH -- "South Carolina GOP could scrap 2020 primary to protect Trump," by the Washington Examiner's David Drucker: "Drew McKissick, chairman of the South Carolina GOP, said he doesn't anticipate Trump would face a primary challenge and emphasized that the state party executive committee hasn't held any formal discussions about the contest, dubbed 'first in the South' and usually third on the presidential nominating calendar. But McKissick would pointedly not rule out canceling the primary, indicating that that would be his preference." Examiner

COMING ATTRACTIONS -- RACHAEL BADE: "Cummings puts Trump on notice for wave of investigations": "Incoming House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings on Wednesday sent more than 50 letters to multiple agencies and departments as well as the Trump Organization and Trump's personal attorneys requesting documents on a series of scandals that have plagued the White House." POLITICO

IMMIGRATION FILES -- TED HESSON: "Judge strikes down Trump policy blocking domestic violence victims from asylum": "U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled that policies blocking the alleged victims from obtaining 'credible fear' of return to their home country - the first step in an asylum claim - violated federal immigration law.

"The decision bars the Trump administration from rapidly deporting such asylum seekers and represents another legal setback in President Donald Trump's battle to discourage migrants from trekking to the U.S.-Mexico border." POLITICO

-- AP'S GARANCE BURKE and MARTHA MENDOZA: "AP Investigation: Migrant kids held in mass shelters": "The federal government has placed most of the 14,300 migrant toddlers, children and teens in its care in detention centers and residential facilities packed with hundreds, or thousands, of children.

"As the year draws to a close, some 5,400 detained migrant children in the U.S. are sleeping in shelters with more than 1,000 other children. Some 9,800 are in facilities with 100-plus total kids, according to confidential government data obtained and cross-checked by The Associated Press. That's a huge shift from just three months after President Donald Trump took office, when the same federal program had 2,720 migrant youth in its care; most were in shelters with a few dozen kids or in foster programs." AP 

-- "Surge of Migrant Families Tests Border Patrol," by WSJ's Alicia Caldwell: "The same remote desert border crossing used by a 7-year-old girl who recently died in government custody is seeing a surge in families and children that the Border Patrol is unequipped to handle, its chief said Tuesday. ... An agency designed to deter and deport adults traveling alone to find work now spends most of its time dealing with vulnerable families who want asylum." WSJ

WHAT MIKE PENCE IS READING -- "China's Censors Give Anti-Trump And Anti-U.S. Rhetoric A Pass On WeChat," by BuzzFeed's Craig Silverman, Megha Rajagopalan, Scott Pham and William Yang: "In October, Vice President Mike Pence delivered a speech on China that heavily criticized what he described as Beijing's unfair and unethical trade practices, its 'unprecedented' effort to influence the American public and elections, and its opposition to President Trump. ... Soon after, posts began appearing on WeChat, China's largest social network, that defended China and attacked Pence. ... 

"The Chinese government exercises strict control over content posted to WeChat and all other online platforms, and citizens know that running afoul of government censors can have serious consequences. But right now Beijing is happy to let people freely express their anger on WeChat - so long as it's directed at the current U.S. administration and Trump in particular. ... This level of freedom to criticize Trump on WeChat and elsewhere in China is relatively new." BuzzFeed

ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA -- AP'S HYUNG-JIN KIM in Seoul: "U.S. official says Washington reviewing North Korea travel ban"

-- KJU GETTING SNEAKY? ... NPR'S GEOFF BRUMFIEL and SEAN MCMINN: "Open Scientific Collaboration May Be Helping North Korea Cheat Nuclear Sanctions": "[N]ew research shared exclusively with NPR shows one way the North may have been able to develop [nuclear] technologies despite the global blockade. An analysis published Wednesday by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey of North Korean studies in scientific journals suggests Pyongyang is circumventing the sanctions regime through open research collaborations with other countries." NPR 

THE INVESTIGATIONS ... JOSH GERSTEIN: "Federal judge deals setback to BuzzFeed in Russia dossier lawsuit": "Miami-based U.S. District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro ruled that Russian businessman Aleksej Gubarev is not a public figure for purposes of the defamation suit he filed last year.

"The decision means that Gubarev might be able to prevail in the suit by showing mere negligence by BuzzFeed and won't have to meet the more demanding 'actual malice' standard typically applied in U.S. courts in controversies involving prominent individuals or those actively engaged in a public debate." POLITICO

NASA ARRIVAL LOUNGE -- Per Jacqueline Klimas in POLITICO Space: "NASA chief Jim Bridenstine on Monday tapped Bettina Incl&aacute;n, a former aide to Florida Governor and Senator-elect Rick Scott, to be the agency's associate administrator for communications. ... And here's a fun fact that's sure to set the UFO community ablaze: she's the daughter of Republican Florida congressional candidate Bettina Rodriguez Aguilera, who claims she was abducted by extraterrestrials and taken for a ride on their spaceship. Incl&aacute;n is also married to Jarrod Agen, Pence's deputy chief of staff." POLITICO

TRANSITIONS -- Juston Johnson is now a partner at Grassroots Targeting. He was previously political director of the RNC. ... Natalie Farr Rogers will join Subject Matter's government relations team. She most recently was chief of staff for Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.). ... Amanda Cowie will be head of communications at Squarespace. She currently is head of business and strategy communications at Bloomberg Media. ...

... Katie Thompson will be communications director for Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas). She currently is communications director for Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah). ... Lowry Crook is now a partner at Best Best & Krieger LLP. He previously was principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for civil works. ... Guy King will be communications director for Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). He previously was communications director and legislative assistant for Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Shayndi Raice, a national news reporter for the WSJ, and Dov Weiss, associate professor of Jewish studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, welcomed Zalman Leo Raice-Weiss. Pic by Aleya Cydney

BONUS BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Ryan Jackson, COS at EPA. How he got his start in politics: "My first job in politics was working for then-Rep. Jim Inhofe's 1994 U.S. Senate campaign. At the time with few exceptions, Oklahoma was still a very Democratically controlled state. The 1994 campaign was competitive and fun, and it was a special election so I was involved in the re-election campaign all over again in 1996." Q&A

                        
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