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Presented by Instagram: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | LITTLEJOHN SENTENCED — “Ex-IRS contractor who leaked Trump’s tax returns sentenced to 5 years,” by WaPo’s Salvador Rizzo: “CHARLES LITTLEJOHN pleaded guilty last year to one count of unauthorized disclosure of income tax returns. Littlejohn, 38, admitted that he leaked [DONALD] TRUMP’s confidential tax information to the New York Times in 2019 and then replicated his work the next year, filtering the tax returns and financial data of thousands of wealthy Americans to ProPublica.” ADD IT TO THE CALENDAR — The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the mifepristone/abortion pill case on March 26.
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President Joe Biden vowed retaliation yesterday for the drone strike that killed three U.S. service members near the border of Jordan and Syria. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP | MIDDLE EAST LATEST — The White House is facing mounting pressure to respond to Iran after a drone strike this weekend in Jordan killed three U.S. soldiers and injured dozens more — the first-known U.S. military fatalities from hostiles in the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Gaza conflict. While details are on the strike are still emerging, preliminary reports suggest that the enemy drone evaded U.S. air defenses because it was mistaken for an American drone in the air at the same time, AP’s Lolita Baldor reports: “The officials said that as the enemy drone was flying in at a low altitude, a U.S. drone was returning to the base. As a result, there was no effort to shoot down the enemy drone.” Though President JOE BIDEN vowed retaliation yesterday for the attack, White House National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY told NBC's “TODAY” show this morning that the president is still "working through options” for a response, NBC News’ Summer Concepcion reports. “We don’t want a wider war with Iran,” Kirby added. “We don’t want a wider war in the region, but we got to do what we have to do.” Iranian officials have denied their involvement, and the U.S. “has not confirmed that the Islamic Resistance carried out the attack,” WaPo’s Loveday Morris and Susannah George report. “Kirby said Monday that Washington is still working through the intelligence.” Still, Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN linked the attack to Iran, noting Tehran "continues to destabilize the region” by supporting extremist organizations, WaPo’s Dan Lamothe reports. “He said Iran also is responsible for ‘backing terrorists who attack our ships in the Red Sea.’” So what’s next? “Biden’s response options could range anywhere from targeting Iranian forces outside to even inside Iran, or opting for a more cautious retaliatory attack solely against the Iran-backed militants responsible,” Reuters’ Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali report. The latest attack has also intensified efforts to secure the release of captives in Gaza in exchange for a long-lasting ceasefire. NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell reports that negotiators from the U.S., Israel, Egypt and Qatar agreed in Paris on a framework for a new hostage deal, and a “draft is being presented to Hamas” today. Elsewhere in the region … The primary UN agency providing aid to Gaza issued a warning that financing might run out by the end of next month unless more than a dozen nations reconsider their decision to cut off support. Multiple countries have backed out of donations to UNRWA in recent days after Israeli intelligence alleged some of the group’s staff took part in the Oct. 7 attacks, NYT’s Patrick Kingsley reports from Jerusalem. “With more than 80 percent of Gaza’s 2.2 million people displaced by Israel’s military campaign, the agency says it is providing shelter to most of the people in the territory. … If UNRWA’s funding dries up, it [is] not clear whether any other agency could immediately fill the gap.” And on the Hill … In a letter sent to Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN on Friday, 19 Hill Democrats pushed for answers after the department approved two arms sales to Israel without going through Congress, Connor O’Brien reports: “The lawmakers pressed for details about why the emergency sales were needed, which sidestepped the typical process that requires congressional approval … The Democratic lawmakers also pressed Blinken on whether the U.S. has conducted any vetting of Israel under the Leahy Law, which bars U.S. assistance to foreign militaries that commit gross human rights violations.” SPENDING IT ALL IN ONE PLACE — Just days after the jury awarded her more than $83 million in her defamation case against DONALD TRUMP, E. JEAN CARROLL told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that she plans to use money on "something Donald Trump hates,” ABC News’ Peter Charalambous reports: “‘If it'll cause him pain for me to give money to certain things, that's my intent,’ Carroll told George Stephanopoulos … suggesting she would create a ‘fund for the women who have been sexually assaulted by Donald Trump.’” Good Monday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@politico.com.
| | | | A message from Instagram: More than 75% of parents want to approve the apps teens under 16 download.
According to a new poll from Morning Consult, more than 75% of parents agree: Teens under 16 shouldn’t be able to download apps from app stores without parental permission.1
Instagram wants to work with Congress to pass federal legislation that gets it done.
Learn more.
1"US Parents Study on Teen App Downloads" by Morning Consult (Meta-commissioned survey of 2,019 parents), Nov. 2023. | | | | | | | 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! | | | | | | | 6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | | 
The West Wing is working to refocus its messaging away from “Bidenomics." | Getty Images/Mark Makela | 1. TALKING POINTS PIVOT: After months of messaging struggles, the West Wing is working to refocus its messaging away from “Bidenomics” and instead draw a more direct contrast with Donald Trump’s economic policies, Adam Cancryn reports: “In particular, Biden officials have homed in on the GOP frontrunner’s passage of massive corporate tax cuts during his term as a key piece of the attack. They believe they can dent Trump’s appeal to working class voters by warning he would similarly prioritize the wealthy if elected again.” The thinking: “[M]any Biden aides privately believe the president need only fight Trump to a draw on the economy, so that swing voters’ concerns over abortion and threats to democracy play an outsized role in determining the election.” 2. THE NAME GAME: The DCCC is out today with its first list of “red-to-blue” recruits in the 2024 cycle — 17 candidates they are backing in highly competitive open or GOP-held districts as they fight to retake the majority in the fall, NBC News' Sahil Kapur scoops. Some key names for open seats: TOM SUOZZI for New York’s 3rd district, CURTIS HERTEL for Michigan’s 7th district and ADAM FRISCH for Colorado's 3rd district. Some key names against Republican incumbents: RUDY SALAS in California’s 22nd (held by Rep. DAVID VALADAO), GEORGE WHITESIDES in California’s 27th (held by Rep. MIKE GARCIA) and MONDAIRE JONES in New York’s 17th (held by Rep. MIKE LAWLER). Notably not on the list: “These Democratic districts don't cover other competitive areas that Biden won, such as the one held by Rep. DAVID SCHWEIKERT, R-Ariz., or seats the party needs to hold to maximize its changes, like the open seat being vacated by Rep. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER, D-Va., who is running for governor, instead.” Response from the right: NRCC comms director JACK PANDOL critiqued the “sad state of House Democratic recruitment” on X, stating “12 out of 17 of the [DCCC’s] ‘top recruits’ are warmed-over retreads.” 3. ON THE ROAD, AGAIN: Former South Carolina Gov. NIKKI HALEY’s presidential campaign is hitting the road this week in a coast-to-coast swing aimed to hoover up donations, Axios’ Dan Primack and Sophia Cai write this morning. “Haley has more than 10 fundraisers scheduled in the next two weeks — including in California, Florida, New York, and Texas … Tomorrow night she'll be in New York City for an event whose hosts include KEN LANGONE, the Home Depot co-founder who previously said he was waiting for Haley's New Hampshire results because he ‘did not want to throw money down a rat hole.’”
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | 4. CAN IT LAST?: As the Federal Reserve prepares to meet again this week, inflation is nearing its target rate and the national economy seems to be on the upswing. But the positive outlook has left some Fed officials “saddled by uncertainty” as they question if the changes will endure, AP’s Christopher Rugaber reports. “‘It almost feels like what we saw in the second half of last year was too good to be true,’ said NATHAN SHEETS, chief global economist at Citi and a former Fed economist. ‘When things are too good to be true, you want to try to scratch the surface and say, how durable is this?’” 5. ADDING GREEN TO THE PURPLE AND RED: “Biden wooing battleground states and red states with research funds,” by WaPo’s Eva Dou: “[The administration] announced $150 million in research funding for 18 states, most of which are contested or red, as part of a raft of policies to boost the nation’s manufacturing industries ahead of the election … The battleground states of Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin are among the places receiving funding to set up ‘innovation engines’ for industries … Other states receiving the funding are Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming, all of which President Donald Trump won in 2020.” 6. SINEMA PARADISO: Though Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA (I-Ariz.) is known to prefer chartering private flights while traveling, The Daily Beast’s Sam Brodey reports this morning that the Arizonan has used a whopping $210,000 her taxpayer-funded office budget to fund her travel since 2020: “[Sinema] has booked at least 11 private plane trips since 2020, with five of them coming in 2023, when she spent $116,000 on chartered air travel. According to the reports, nearly all of the flights were charted for travel within Arizona.” More: “There are no rules against flying private — and some members, largely from rural states, do so in rare situations — but there are several reasons why it is problematic. … The amount that Sinema spent on private planes in 2023 alone is greater than the current annual salaries of all but just a few of her most senior staffers … But for Sinema, who is seemingly quite willing to risk scrutiny and public backlash if it means cashing in a perk or clearing time on her schedule, the use of private taxpayer-funded planes is part of a well-established broader pattern.”
| | | | 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 | | Lloyd Austin has returned to work at the Pentagon. Marjorie Taylor Greene said a Senate border deal is “dead on arrival.” MEDIA MOVE — Patrick Svitek is now national politics breaking news reporter at WaPo. He previously was a political reporter at The Texas Tribune. TRANSITION — Jennifer Thibodeau will be managing director of safety and regulatory policy at the Cargo Airline Association.She previously was senior attorney in DOT’s Office of the General Counsel. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Lauren Paulos, acting deputy director at FDA’s Office of Legislation, and Trevor Paulos, Department of Defense, welcomed Landon Scott Paulos on Jan. 22. — Sofia Rose Haft, comms director at Anduril Industries, and Michael Haft, founder and CEO of Compass Coffee, welcomed Sloan Tereza Haft on Saturday, who was born on International Holocaust Remembrance Day and whose middle name honors the memory of one of their family members who perished during the war. Pic … Another pic BONUS BIRTHDAY: Newsmax's Anna Laudiero Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.
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