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Presented by Electronic Payments Coalition: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | |  Nikki Haley is pushing back on projections that she will cede the GOP presidential nomination to Donald Trump after the New Hampshire primary. | Steven Senne/AP Photo | It’s Election Day in New Hampshire, where NIKKI HALEY is hoping to pull off a David-vs.-Goliath-style upset over DONALD TRUMP in a primary that is falling further into Trump’s grasp by the day. Regardless of the outcome, Haley is putting on a brave face and claiming that this won’t be her last stand against the GOP frontrunner. “While members of Congress, the press and many of the weak-kneed fellas who ran for president are giving up and giving in — we aren’t going anywhere,” Haley campaign manager BETSY ANKNEY said in a new memo this morning, which was first reported by NYT’s Shane Goldmacher. Ankney goes on to say that the campaign is holding out for Haley’s home state of South Carolina, and beyond, vowing to stay in the race through Super Tuesday on March 5. Read the full memo Here was Haley on Fox News this morning: “No, I don’t get out if I lose today. … Again, I’m going to say this: We’ve had 56,000 people vote for Donald Trump, and you’re going to say that’s what the country wants? That’s not what the country wants.” She was also noncommittal about what a “strong showing” in tonight’s primary would look like. Haley’s commitment to the race could be newly buoyed by the exit of Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS. Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser reports that Haley’s campaign has brought in $1.5 million since DeSantis suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump. The case against Haley: “Why New Hampshire won’t be rocket fuel for Haley's campaign,” by Steve Shepard Biden his time: Our colleagues Elena Schneider and Holly Otterbein have the latest scoop on how JOE BIDEN’s reelection operation is looking at New Hampshire tonight after the president struck an accord with the DNC to shift the first sanctioned Democratic primary to South Carolina. “As part of that deal, the Biden campaign has ignored New Hampshire, noting the primary is unsanctioned and immaterial to the delegate count. But privately, allies fear that if he merely underperforms on Tuesday night, it would harm the president. They are taking it very seriously. They’re worried that the voters may not be — and they also hope a strong showing might help their own bid to regain their first-in-the-nation status.” More New Hampshire reads:
- “Trump is on the march in New Hampshire — and looming over the race for governor,” by NBC’s Bridget Bowman in Rochester: “As Trump continues his march to the GOP nomination, Republican candidates such as [CHUCK] MORSE and [KELLY] AYOTTE look like they’ll once again have to grapple with what it means to run on the same ballot as the polarizing former president. That means trying to not only win support among GOP base voters who idolize Trump, but also among voters who can’t stand him.”
- “Top N.H. election official prepares for the primary. And its aftermath,” by WaPo’s Rhonda Colvin in Manchester: Secretary of State DAVID SCANLAN on why he allowed Trump on the ballot: “We decided that in New Hampshire, the requirement to run for president of the United States is the requirements that are in Article Two, Section One of the United States Constitution, which says that a candidate must be 35 years old. They must be a natural born United States citizen, and they must have lived in the country for 14 years. And that’s it.”
Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Congratulations to the AP on its first Oscar nomination, for its documentary, “20 Days in Mariupol.” Drop me a line with your thoughts on the rest of the nominations: gross@politico.com.
| | | | A message from Electronic Payments Coalition: CREDIT UNIONS & COMMUNITY BANKS IN All 50 STATES OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL CREDIT CARD BILL: Local credit unions and community banks serve an essential role in supporting Main Street. So, when 10,000+ credit unions and community banks throughout the country oppose the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill, Congress should pay attention. Durbin-Marshall lines the pockets of corporate mega-stores by shifting costs and risks to credit unions, community banks, and their 140 million customers. Click here to learn more. | | | | | 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  Ron DeSantis' backing of Trump is already under intense scrutiny just days after the Florida governor exited the race. | Patrick Semansky/AP Photo | 1. DeSANTIS EMBRACES TRUMP — SORT OF: Now that DeSantis is out of the race and lending his support to Trump’s comeback attempt, our colleague Kimberly Leonard has a peek at how the nascent détente is going so far. The short answer: Not so well. On the trail, Trump told supporters that he’s retiring his nickname for the Florida governor, “Ron DeSanctimonious,” and DONALD TRUMP JR. even floated the idea of DeSantis working in a Trump White House. But DeSantis in a sharp post on X yesterday somewhat rebuked Trump’s influence in the state, threatening the GOP-controlled legislature that he would veto a proposal that would have offered up to $5 million in state taxpayer dollars to pay for Trump’s legal bills. It’s also unclear if DeSantis will actually put actions behind his endorsement and appear with the former president at official campaign events. 2. ALL THAT GLITTERS: Sen. BOB MENENDEZ gets the WaPo Style section treatment in an illuminating deep dive by Jesús Rodríguez that tracks how the New Jersey Democrat found himself fighting a federal indictment — again. Menendez sits down with Rodríguez in his Senate office, where he talked about his father, MARIO, whose words decades ago inform how Menendez is approaching the looming charges, vowing that he will not only shirk the case, but also win reelection: “‘Think a lot about what you’re going to give as your word, but once you give it, then keep it, and be a man of your word,’ the New Jersey Democrat continues, quoting his father’s wisdom. Now his voice is shaky. His throat won’t let the next word go, so the sound that comes out is a whimper. His mouth twists into a wordless sob. ‘Remembering my father,’ he mumbles.” 3. AUSTIN SPEAKS: Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN gave his first public remarks since his once-secret hospitalization to treat prostate cancer, making the case for continued international support for Ukraine. “Austin praised Kyiv’s resolve in its defense against Russia’s invasion and touted military aid provided by European allies in his opening remarks at a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the coalition of nations providing weapons and equipment to Ukraine,” Connor O’Brien writes. “Let’s be clear: Our support for Ukraine’s struggle against tyranny makes all of our countries more secure,” Austin said. “If we lose our nerve, if we flinch, if we fail to deter other would-be aggressors, we will only invite even more bloodshed and more chaos.” Interesting nugget: “On Tuesday, Austin read carefully from his prepared remarks, but skipped over the paragraph acknowledging his health. ‘As you can tell, I’m joining from home today,’ he was supposed to say. ‘I’m feeling good and looking forward to being back at the Pentagon very soon. And I’m grateful for all of your warm wishes.’” 4. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: “As some Israeli troops leave Gaza, a long-term strategy remains elusive,” by WaPo’s Shira Rubin, Steve Hendrix and Lior Soroka in Tel Aviv: “With Israel’s army beginning to gradually pull out of Gaza, its gains against Hamas are significant but incomplete, Israeli military and security officials say, and are threatened by the lack of a postwar strategy. Though intense ground fighting continues in Khan Younis and other parts of the southern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military says it is moving away from large-scale bombardments and transitioning to a more focused campaign of targeted raids and assassinations, aiming to eradicate Hamas’s military leadership.” Related read: “Stripped, Beaten or Vanished: Israel’s Treatment of Gaza Detainees Raises Alarm,” by NYT’s Raja Abdulrahim: “A U.N. office said Israel’s detention and treatment of detainees might amount to torture. It estimated thousands had been detained and held in “horrific” conditions. Some were freed wearing only diapers.”
| | | | 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! | | | | | 5. THE TIMES ARE A-CHANGIN’: The Los Angeles Times is in a “state of mayhem” as layoffs cloud the future of the newsroom and a host of editors abruptly head for the exits, CNN’s Oliver Darcy reports. “Beyond the drastic cuts hanging over the newsroom, it’s unclear what [owner PATRICK] SOON-SHIONG is doing behind the scenes to stable his ship. The biotech billionaire purchased The LAT in 2018, pouring nearly $1 billion into the storied paper and vowing to steer it into the future after enduring years of tumult under Tribune Publishing. But in the words of the newspaper’s own leadership team, years later under his stewardship it is in a dire state of ‘financial crisis.’ The newsroom’s rank-and-file have not heard from Soon-Shiong since he announced [executive editor KEVIN] MERIDA’s exit two weeks ago. At the time, he said his commitment to the newspaper had ‘not wavered.’” LAT’s @mattdpearce: “L.A. Times management has notified me that 94 @latguild members are being notified of intended layoff today, or about one-fourth of our whole membership. This total, while devastating, is nonetheless far lower than the total number of Guild layoffs initially expected last week.” 6. INFLUENCING THE INFLUENCERS: Priorities USA, the super PAC backing Biden’s reelection effort, is incentivizing online creators to push a pro-Biden message on their accounts — all while crashing into the murky online rules around political ads, Rebecca Kern reports. “The influential Democratic PAC is spending $1 million for its first-ever “creator” program, enlisting Storr and 150 other influencers to post on social media in the 2024 election cycle, according to details first shared with POLITICO.” But federal regulations on social media are sparse, which means most of the entities set their own rules, many of which are poorly enforced and contradictory between different platforms. 7. FOR YOUR RADAR: “Spread of Militants, Coups Draws U.S. Attention to West Africa,” by WSJ’s William Mauldin: “Top U.S. diplomats, worried about Islamist insurgencies spreading through western Africa, are urging stable countries on the region’s coast to insulate themselves by improving government services and addressing divisive grievances before it is too late. U.S. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN visited Ivory Coast this week, touting a $300 million American program to help shore up governments along Africa’s Atlantic Coast, including those in Benin, Ghana, Guinea and Togo.”
| | | | 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 | | TRANSITIONS — Jackie Robinson-Burnette is now associate administrator for the Office of Government Contracting & Business Development at the Small Business Administration. She most recently was CEO of Senior Executive Strategic Solutions. … Former Australian PM Scott Morrison is joining American Global Strategies as non-executive vice chair. … … Santiago Rivera and Maria Gamba have joined New Heights Communications as senior associates. Gamba previously was a comms consultant at Fireside Campaigns. Rivera previously was an associate at Conexion. ENGAGED — Jeremy Segal, an aerospace systems engineer at EdgeSource, and Dana Beckman, comms specialist for POLITICO, got engaged recently at White Point Gardens in Charleston, South Carolina. They grew up on the same street and ended up reconnecting in college. Pic 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.
| | | | A message from Electronic Payments Coalition: CREDIT UNIONS & COMMUNITY BANKS IN All 50 STATES OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL CREDIT CARD BILL: The Durbin-Marshall credit card bill would create new government mandates on credit cards that would put consumer data and access to credit at risk. The bill would benefit corporate mega-stores, like Walmart and Target, at the expense of Main Street and the 140 million Americans who rely on credit unions and community banks. The threat of Durbin-Marshall to small financial institutions is so clear that 10,000+ credit unions and community banks in America are opposed to the bill. They also see through the so-called “carve out” for smaller banks which is a hoax to try and buy their support. Their message to Congress is simple: on behalf of credit unions and community banks in all 50 states, commit to actively opposing the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill. Click here to learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
