POLITICO Playbook: Republican leadership splits, and party splinters over hate resolution Presented by Amazon

House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) look on as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks at a press conference on Jan. 29. | M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO

23 HOUSE REPUBLICANS voted against a resolution Thursday evening that condemned hate against many groups, including Jews and Muslims, in the wake of REP. ILHAN OMAR’S (D-MINN.) comments that suggested supporters of Israel might have dual loyalty -- remarks that were widely viewed as anti-Semitic. Every Democrat voted yes.

HERE ARE A FEW dynamics to keep an eye on …

-- FIRST OF ALL, it’s fair to say that, within Democratic leadership, there is a sense that OMAR has two strikes against her, and if there is a sniff of anti-Semitism again, there will be a movement from some of the rank and file to get her off the Foreign Affairs Committee. SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI’S House Democratic Caucus lost all this week to the anti-Semitism story. They don’t want another lost week, or to be painted as a party that’s permissive of anti-Semites. Eliana Johnson and Melanie Zanona on how the Omar controversy has been a gift to Trump

-- THERE IS SERIOUS, SERIOUS anger -- seething, it’s fair to say -- at the top levels of the House GOP that Republicans muddled their message with a split on this vote. All week, HOUSE MINORITY LEADER KEVIN MCCARTHY’S leadership team managed to keep his troops in line, allowing Democrats to spend days upon days tripping all over themselves. Now, they have taken a bit of the spotlight off Democrats for reasons that are clear to no one.

THERE WERE TWO OPTIONS when it came to this vote, according to top lawmakers and aides: Either every single Republican had to be for the resolution, or everyone needed to be against it. Now that nearly two dozen Republicans voted no, the party is in the mushy middle, unable to define where it stood.

THOSE WHO VOTED AGAINST IT -- including New York Rep. Lee Zeldin, who was most animated against the bill -- said it was a sham, and should’ve focused more squarely on Omar’s remarks.

THE PREVAILING THOUGHT in House GOP leadership and in much of the rank and file is that the folks who voted against the resolution handed Democrats a gift.

-- THE HOUSE GOP is overwhelmingly white and male, so there is definitely a concern about a slice of the party voting against a resolution that condemns hate against minorities.

-- HOUSE REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE CHAIRWOMAN LIZ CHENEY of Wyoming split with MCCARTHY and HOUSE MINORITY WHIP STEVE SCALISE (R-LA.) and voted against the bill. Sure, they’re in the minority, so fissures might appear to matter less, but when the rank and file sees that there is disunity at the top, they take notice.

WE SPENT LAST NIGHT checking up with our Republican sources who were quite peeved at Cheney -- to say the least. The thinking among most top Republicans is this: When you’re part of a leadership team, you stick together. Period. (Cheney’s allies will tell you this is not a big deal, but they are alone in that thinking.)

KEEP AN EYE ON THIS … BURGESS EVERETT and ELIANA JOHNSON: “Fearing mass GOP defections, Trump leans in to emergency fight” … WAPO’S ERICA WERNER and SEUNG MIN KIM: “White House demands GOP support for Trump’s wall plans, won’t say how they’ll affect military construction”

Good Friday morning. Happy International Women’s Day! …

… NEW MORNING CONSULT/POLITICO POLL -- STEVEN SHEPARD: “Do men have it better than women in this country? It depends which party you ask, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. More than half of Democratic voters, 55 percent, think men are better off than women in the U.S. — but only a fifth of Republicans shared that view.

“There’s a similar divide along gender lines over how the sexes are faring: Forty-four percent of female voters said men have a better life than they do, while just 5 percent said women have a better life. But a majority of men, 52 percent, think there’s little difference between the genders: Just 28 percent said they have a better life than women, while 10 percent responded that women are better off.” POLITICO … POLITICO Magazine asks, “What are the biggest problems women face today?”

-- BONUS WOMEN RULE PODCAST -- ANNA sat down with Netflix show “One Day at a Time” showrunner GLORIA CALDERÓN KELLETT and its star JUSTINA MACHADO to talk about why it’s important to have representation in Hollywood writing rooms, telling authentic stories and so much more. Listen and subscribe

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK … MIKE RICCI, the former comms director to PAUL RYAN, is joining MARYLAND GOV. LARRY HOGAN as communications director.

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TALKER … JOHN F. HARRIS in POLITICO MAGAZINE: “How Trump Is Like JFK”: “The Hannity revelation underscores a striking paradox: Even as Trump wages almost daily attacks on individual reporters and news organizations, and often seems bent on undermining the very idea of independent news media, behind the scenes, he arguably has the most frequent, most informal, and most sustained personal interactions with reporters and commentators of any president since the days of Kennedy and Bradlee (as well Joseph Alsop, Charles Bartlett and other journalists of that era who enjoyed special access to JFK).

“The media figures Trump talks to informally go beyond his well-documented phone calls with sympathetic commentators like Hannity and Lou Dobbs. His media roster includes regular, if less-publicized engagement with beat reporters and executives at the New York Times, the Washington Post and, on occasion, POLITICO. …

“He knows what book projects are underway by various Washington reporters, is participating in several of them and soaks up intelligence of what the books are likely to say. (He gave an interview to POLITICO’s Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer for a book to be released this spring, and another to POLITICO’s Tim Alberta for one to be released in the summer.)” POLITICO Mag

UPDATE … WAPO’S ERIK WEMPLE: “AtlanticLIVE’s Steve Clemons won’t join Axios”: “Several young, female subordinates of Clemons at AtlanticLIVE got together for a meal in January and discovered that they had something in common: unfortunate interactions with Clemons in the course of coordinating AtlanticLIVE’s events lineup.

“Among the complaints, according to sources familiar with the meeting: that Clemons once mistook two female African American Atlantic staffers for catering workers at an AtlanticLIVE event; that he very frequently hectored employees over small matters; that he was routinely dismissive of his subordinates and made little attempt to learn their names; and that he reacted poorly to negative feedback about his work as a moderator. (None of the accusations included sexual harassment.) …

“As for the particular complaints against him, Clemons counters that he’s ‘not a yeller,’ though he doesn’t deny insisting on excellence. ‘I can be short and dismissive and passionate and I think people can hear and experience things in different ways, but I can’t dispute that other people felt the tension, but I’m not an abusive person,’ he says. As for the waitstaff allegation, Clemons denies it. ‘Totally untrue,’ he says. ‘I don’t have any recollection of that.’” WaPo

BLOOMBERG SCOOP … NICK WADHAMS and JENNIFER JACOBS: “Trump Said to Seek Huge Premium From Allies Hosting U.S. Troops”: “[T]he administration is drawing up demands that Germany, Japan and eventually any other country hosting U.S. troops pay the full price of American soldiers deployed on their soil -- plus 50 percent or more for the privilege of hosting them, according to a dozen administration officials and people briefed on the matter. In some cases, nations hosting American forces could be asked to pay five to six times as much as they do now under the ‘Cost Plus 50’ formula.

“Trump has championed the idea for months. His insistence on it almost derailed recent talks with South Korea over the status of 28,000 U.S. troops in the country when he overruled his negotiators with a note to National Security Advisor John Bolton saying, ‘We want cost plus 50.’ ... Officials caution that the idea is one of many under consideration as the U.S. presses allies to pay more, and it may be toned down.

“Yet even at this early stage, it has sent shock waves through the departments of Defense and State, where officials fear it will be an especially large affront to stalwart U.S. allies in Asia and Europe already questioning the depth of Trump’s commitment to them.” Bloomberg

INTERESTING … The chief of staff of the Pakistani army gave the late SEN. JOHN MCCAIN and SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) ceremonial pistols in July 2017, according to a recently filed report of foreign gifts with the State Department. They gave them to the Secretary of the Senate.

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FOR YOUR RADAR … CARLA MARINUCCI: “Jimmy Carter offers to visit North Korea to try and break nuclear stalemate”

-- WSJ’S MICHAEL GORDON: “U.S. Seeks Access to North Korean Missile Base”: “The U.S. will ask North Korea to admit American inspectors to a missile-launch site that Pyongyang has begun to restore, but the Trump administration hasn’t concluded the facility is currently operational, a senior State Department official said.

“Satellite photos made public on Thursday by 38 North, a website on North Korean nuclear issues, shows construction to rebuild the launchpad at the site has moved quickly and that a structure to move missiles to that pad now appears to have been completed. Work also has been done on a missile engine test stand. Given this construction and other activity at the location, 38 North said the site ‘appears to have returned to normal operational status.’” WSJ

COMING ATTRACTIONS -- ANDREW DESIDERIO: “House Dems to bring resolution next week to make Mueller report public”

2020 WATCH …

-- DANIEL STRAUSS and ELENA SCHNEIDER: “Montana Gov. Bullock hires top adviser with eye on 2020”: “Jenn Ridder, who managed Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ 2018 win, has joined Bullock’s political operation.” POLITICO

-- BIDEN ROUNDUP … AND HE’S NOT EVEN IN YET!: “Biden’s tough talk on 1970s school desegregation plan could get new scrutiny in today’s Democratic Party,” by WaPo’s Matt Viser … “Biden in 1993 speech pushing crime bill warned of ‘predators on our streets’ who were ‘beyond the pale,’” by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski … “Biden bid gets boost as 2020 field shrinks,” by David Siders and Daniel Strauss

-- ELENA SCHNEIDER and LAURA BARRÓN-LÓPEZ: “Gillibrand struggles to get N.Y. delegation on board for 2020”: “Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is still searching for a first presidential endorsement from colleagues in New York’s delegation, leaving her the only senator running in 2020 without any home-state congressional backing. The New York Democrat, who is still in the exploratory phase of her presidential bid, is working behind the scenes to curry support among her colleagues.

“Gillibrand is having lunch with House members — some for the first time — and hosting informal drinks with the state delegation next week. She’s made phone calls to them and asked others for help in shoring up endorsements. But, so far, no one has jumped on board.” POLITICO

-- “Beto O’Rourke team begins making inquiries about possible staffers, strategists in NH,” by WMUR’s John DiStaso: “Sources: People close to former congressman reach out to key Granite Staters ahead of possible presidential announcement.”

THE INVESTIGATIONS -- “Manafort gets 47 months in prison for financial fraud,” by Darren Samuelsohn, Josh Gerstein and Matthew Choi: “Paul Manafort … was sentenced Thursday to nearly four years in prison for a slate of financial fraud crimes, a much lighter sentence than many had anticipated. Manafort’s sentence, handed down by U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III in Alexandria, Va., is not the final word on his fate — another sentencing is scheduled next week for a series of additional crimes.

“However, his 47-month sentence is the longest to date for a Trump associate ensnared in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Manafort — wearing a green jail uniform and relying on a wheelchair and cane during the hearing — asked for ‘compassion’ from the judge before receiving his punishment, a coda to 16 months of legal wrangling that has featured his jailing over allegations of witness tampering, gag orders, a ripped up plea deal and the only trial to result from Mueller’s investigation so far.” POLITICO

-- Scott Hechinger (@ScottHech), a public defender in NYC: “For context on Manafort’s 47 months in prison, my client [Wednesday] was offered 36-72 months in prison for stealing $100 worth of quarters from a residential laundry room.”

-- “Cohen’s lawyer says Trump advisers were ‘dangling’ pardons,” by AP’s Michael Balsamo, Mary Clare Jalonick and Jonathan Lemire: AP



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DESSERT: “A Trump official said seismic air gun tests don’t hurt whales. So a congressman blasted him with an air horn,” by WaPo’s Darryl Fears

TRUMP’S FRIDAY -- The president and first lady Melania Trump will leave the White House at 9:20 a.m. They are traveling to Alabama in the wake of the recent tornado for the afternoon before flying to Palm Beach. Trump will speak at a fundraiser at 7:30 p.m.

PLAYBOOK READS

PHOTO DU JOUR: A courtroom sketch depicts former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, center in a wheelchair, during his sentencing hearing in federal court before judge T.S. Ellis III in Alexandria, Va., on Thursday. | Dana Verkouteren via AP

BORDER TALES -- “Appeals Court Grants More Legal Protections for Migrants Seeking Asylum,” by NYT’s Miriam Jordan in LA: “Creating yet another roadblock to the Trump administration’s efforts to deport ineligible migrants, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that immigration authorities can no longer swiftly deport asylum seekers who fail an initial screening, opening the door for thousands of migrants a year to get another shot in the federal courts to win asylum in the United States.

“The ruling broadens constitutional protections for undocumented immigrants at the border and opens a new legal gateway for some of them to appeal for permission to stay in the country.” NYT

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AT THE PENTAGON -- “Elon Musk’s Security Clearance Under Review Over Pot Use,” by Bloomberg’s Anthony Capaccio: “The Pentagon is reviewing Elon Musk’s federal security clearance following the billionaire’s marijuana toke on a California comedian’s podcast in September, according to a U.S. official. Musk has refiled his SF-86 security form, which requires a federal employee or contractor seeking a clearance to acknowledge any illegal drug use over the previous seven years, according to the official.” Bloomberg

WILD STORY -- “Martin Shkreli Steers His Old Company From Prison—With Contraband Cellphone,” by WSJ’s Rob Copeland and Bradley Hope: “From a top bunk in a 12-person prison cell in Fort Dix, N.J., Martin Shkreli is at work on a big second act. Wielding little more than a contraband smartphone, the disgraced pharmaceutical executive remains the shadow power at Phoenixus AG, the drug company that became a national lightning rod for jacking up the prices of rare drugs under its former name, Turing Pharmaceuticals AG. Mr. Shkreli still helps call the shots.

“A few weeks ago he rang up his handpicked chief executive during a safari vacation—to fire him, according to a person familiar with the exchange. This is the secret life of inmate 87850-053, 16 months into a seven-year sentence for securities fraud. ... He has made prison friends, including ‘Krispy’ and ‘D-Block,’ some of whom affectionately call him ‘Asshole,’ according to people familiar with his new life.” WSJ

VALLEY TALK -- “When Mark Zuckerberg Said Privacy, He Didn’t Mean Privacy From Facebook,” by WSJ’s Christopher Mims: “The CEO’s privacy manifesto is a road map for getting the company’s services more embedded in our daily lives so it can gather data in new and creative ways.”

Celebrate International Women's Day: No one rises to the top alone. The new Women Rule newsletter is a must-read for women who seek to inform, empower, connect and inspire each other. Sign up today and #RuleWithUs.

PLAYBOOKERS

SPOTTED: Al Franken at happy hour last night at Bobby Van’s at 12th and New York ... Connie Mack, Rick Wiley and Phil Hardy at the Trump Hotel ... Mark Cuban in front of the Cannon House Office Building

SPOTTED last night at Omar’s in NYC celebrating Kimberly Guilfoyle’s birthday (which is tomorrow): Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Lara Trump, Sergio Gor, Jesse Watters, Emma DiGiovine, Russ Coniglio, Joe Farrell, Omar Hernandez and Yaz Hernandez.

SUNDAY SO FAR …

CNN “State of the Union”: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee ... Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas). Panel: Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Scott Jennings, Symone Sanders and Linda Chavez (live from SXSW in Austin)

CNN “Inside Politics”: Eliana Johnson, Michael Shear, Molly Ball and Seung-Min Kim

FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Panel: Newt Gingrich, Jonathan Swan, Shelby Holliday and Juan Williams. Power Player: Cal Ripken, Jr.

NBC “Meet the Press”: Panel: Bob Costa, Kasie Hunt, María Teresa Kumar and former Gov. Pat McCrory (R-N.C.)

CBS “Face the Nation”: Andrew McCabe ... Bill Burns. Political panel: David Frum, Susan Glasser, Toluse Olorunnipa and Jerry Seib

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Barnes & Thornburg’s Craig Burkhardt turned 61 (hat tip: Kyle Wiley) … Bloomberg’s Lydia Mulvany

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Democratic media consultant Joe Slade White is 69. How he got his start in politics: “As a student at Georgetown during the turbulent anti-war era, I say I majored in English and minored in tear gas. I graduated with no discernible marketable skills, and walked into the McGovern for President headquarters and they handed me a tape recorder. I ended up taping every speech Sen. McGovern made, witnessing history, and crisscrossing the country on the Zoo plane with legends like Hunter Thompson and others. I was very very lucky and it’s how my career in media and politics began.” Playbook Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt is 6-0 -- video of some of his colleagues toasting him (including Savannah, Hoda, Chuck, Andrea and Rachel Maddow) (h/t TJ Ducklo) … Kristian Denny Todd … Andrew Hughes, HUD chief of staff (h/t Emily McBride) ... Adrian Saenz ... George Allen, former Virginia senator and governor, is 67 … Shanon Henry ... Taylor Lustig, manager of government and external affairs at PepsiCo … Jesse Thomas, SVP of strategy at Crowdpac ... Evan Feigenbaum, VP for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace ... Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of the UK, is 71 ... Micah Barbour ... POLITICO’s Emily Wymer Solomon ... Skip Joslin ... Gina Dearborn ... Bethany Pritchard ... Sarah Henning, COS to Ian Bremmer of the Eurasia Group ... Karen Katz ... Lauren Farber ... Mallory Quigley, VP of comms at Susan B. Anthony List … Tajikistani PM Kokhir Rasulzoda is 58 ... Barry Toiv ...

… Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) is 44 … Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) is 78 ... Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) is 46 … Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) is 49 ... Alex Tureman ... Sarah Rodriguez, deputy press secretary at ICE (h/t Liz Johnson) … Sarah Rogers … Sean Magers … Tatum Gibson ... Jody Arlington ... Lauren Parks of Boeing ... Andrew Koneschusky, partner at CLS Strategies (h/ts Jon Haber) ... Bill Pendergast, partner at Brunswick (h/ts Tim Griffin and George Little) … Emma Brodie ... Alex Olsman ... Eric Sumberg ... AARP’s Ashley Wolos ... Nathaniel Sobel ... Alexis Rice … Jeff Sonderman … Zack Fink is 46 … Randy Lynn ... Leslie Crocker Snyder ... Brittney Bain, comms. manager for the Bush Center ... Becky Ogle ... Jim Autry ... Mike Tate ... Tom Cellucci is 61 (h/t Ed Cash)



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