POLITICO Playbook: Ryan says Trump can be beat in 2020, Pelosi on impeachment and the DCCC’s big money night Presented by Amazon

“If this is about Donald Trump and his personality, he isn’t going to win it,” Paul Ryan said of the 2020 race. | Olivier Douliery/Getty Images

DRIVING THE DAY

GOOD MORNING, MR. PRESIDENT! … PAUL RYAN SPEAKS!, via Treasure Coast Newspapers’ Ali Schmitz: “Ryan ... said [during a Vero Beach speech] he believes there are some Democrats who could beat President Donald Trump next year. He said Trump needs to define through policies, and not his personal brand.

“‘The person who defines that race is going to win the race. If this is about Donald Trump and his personality, he isn’t going to win it,’ Ryan said.” TCPalm

WHAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT … WAPO’S JOE HEIM interviews SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI: PELOSI: “I’m not for impeachment. This is news. I’m going to give you some news right now because I haven’t said this to any press person before. But since you asked, and I’ve been thinking about this: Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country. And he’s just not worth it. …

“I DON’T THINK HE’S FIT to be president of the United States. And that’s up to us to make the contrast to show that this president — while he may be appealing to you on your insecurity and therefore your xenophobia, whether it’s globalization or immigrants — is fighting clean air for your children to breathe, clean water for them to drink, food safety, every good thing that we should be doing that people can’t do for themselves.” WaPo

-- OK, SO: This story exploded late Monday afternoon on Capitol Hill. We all sat around a bit, trying to decide what to make of the remarks -- why Pelosi made them and why now? It was clear that Pelosi felt exceedingly comfortable with Heim, because this is a step further than she’s gone in the past.

PELOSI HAS SAID VERSIONS OF THIS BEFORE -- that impeachment needed to be bipartisan. What she hadn’t said was Trump was not “worth it” and that he is not “fit to be president.” Pelosi also tied all of these thoughts together in a package, which made it land harder for onlookers.

JOHN BRESNAHAN (@brespolitico) said this: “Pelosi is doing every House Democrat a favor here on impeachment. She’s said versions of this before, but leaned into harder than ever. This takes pressure off individual Dems to be for/against impeachment question. They can just point to Pelosi & blame her.”

BRES IS RIGHT. This allows Pelosi to be the punching bag on the impeachment issue. Members are getting questions about removing Trump from office every single day, and they are backed up by activists who are pushing this as well. And, for now, Pelosi has taken a position, and that’s helpful for Democrats. Pelosi isn’t foreclosing the possibility of impeaching Trump if special counsel Robert Mueller drops a bomb. But this is a way to tamp down talk for the moment.

-- SARAH FERRIS and ANDREW DESIDERIO: “Pelosi’s hard line on impeachment splits House Dems”

Good Tuesday morning.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: DCCC CHAIR CHERI BUSTOS held her first member fundraiser at Officina on Monday night, with more than 75 Democrats attending. The event raised nearly $2 million, with Bustos cutting a $575,000 check to the party committee. Other lawmakers who cut checks included: Pelosi: $200,000; House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer: $100,000; Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján: $100,000; Rep. John Lewis: $200,000; and Rep. Katherine Clark: $100,000. SPOTTED: Reps. Deb Haaland, Lori Trahan, Greg Stant, David Trone, Jennifer Wexton, Dean Phillips, Donna Shalala and Joe Morelle.

PROGRAMMING NOTE … BOOK LAUNCH EVENT ... NYT’S MAGGIE HABERMAN -- our former colleague, friend and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter -- will join us in conversation about our book “The Hill to Die On,” and Congress and governing in the era of Donald Trump.

THIS IS A VERY SPECIAL EVENT FOR US -- it’s on April 9, which is the day our book is released. And, quite obviously, no one understands Trump quite like Maggie. The event is being put on by Community Bookstore, and will take place at the Murmrr Theatre in Prospect Heights in Brooklyn at 7:30 p.m. Event details … Buy tickets

NYT’S ANNIE KARNI and MAGGIE HABERMAN: “‘My Dad’s Not a Racist’: Book Describes Ivanka Trump’s Defense After Charlottesville”: “[‘Kushner Inc.’ by Vicky Ward] which will be published by St. Martin’s Press on March 19, seeks to tell the behind-the-scenes story of Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner’s rise to extraordinary power in the White House. Ms. Ward has said she spent two years interviewing 220 people for the book, granting many of them anonymity.

“Her account is not a flattering one, and White House officials have dismissed the book and any coverage of it. She portrays Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner as two children forged by their domineering fathers — one overinvolved with his son, one disengaged from his daughter — who have climbed to positions of power by disregarding protocol and skirting the rules when they can. And Ms. Ward tries to unravel the narrative that the two serve as stabilizing voices inside an otherwise chaotic White House, depicting them instead as Mr. Trump’s chief enablers.” NYT … $18.89 on Amazon

A message from Amazon: Retail is a thriving, competitive, and highly-fragmented market where both buyers and small sellers have more choices than ever before. At Amazon, we welcome this competition. It sharpens our focus, feeds our creativity, and fuels our drive to innovate for customers. Learn more.

THE CHENEYS …

-- MELANIE ZANONA and JOHN BRESNAHAN: “Cheney roils GOP leaderships on anti-Semitism vote”

-- ELIANA JOHNSON, “Cheney grills Pence on Trump’s foreign policy”: “Dick Cheney lit into Vice President Mike Pence behind closed doors over the direction of the Trump administration’s foreign policy, flouting a set of agreed-upon subjects and forcing Pence on the defensive over President Donald Trump’s foreign policy.

“The former vice president interviewed Pence at the American Enterprise Institute’s annual World Forum in Sea Island, Ga., an off-the-record confab attended by approximately 200 top-dollar Republican donors, lawmakers and business leaders who flock to the private island every spring. Cheney pressed Pence about Trump’s proclivity for making major policy announcements on Twitter and his off-and-on commitment to NATO, according to four meeting attendees and a source briefed on their remarks.

“The former vice president, who has kept a low public profile in recent years, questioned whether Trump places enough value on the findings of the intelligence community, which he has repeatedly and publicly dismissed. He suggested that Trump foreign policy has at times looked more like President Barack Obama’s — which Cheney has repeatedly lambasted — than that of a Republican standard-bearer. At one point, Pence, whom attendees described as taken aback by some of the questions, turned to his predecessor and inquisitor and joked, ‘Man, who wrote all these softball questions?’” POLITICO … WaPo’s Bob Costa and Ashley Parker on the closed-door session

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

ABOUT THE BUDGET … “House Dems likely to ditch budget vote and avoid intraparty clash,” by Sarah Ferris and Heather Caygle: “Democrats are finally in charge of the House. But they’re likely to skip one of their most fundamental responsibilities: passing a budget. Eager to steer clear of another public intraparty battle, House Democrats are expected to avoid a vote on a budget this year, multiple Democratic lawmakers and aides tell POLITICO.

“House Democrats are still drafting a budget, which would offer their first chance as a new majority to formally outline their broader agenda. But the resolution — which is purely a political messaging document and is not signed into law — would also stoke major ideological clashes within the caucus over Medicare for All, the Green New Deal and defense spending.” POLITICO

-- DAN DIAMOND: “Trump’s budget would steer $20M to Jack Nicklaus-backed hospital project”

2020 WATCH … ALEX THOMPSON: “Gillibrand defends office investigation into sexual harassment claims”: “Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) on Monday evening defended her office’s handling of sexual harassment allegations from last summer and said she had ‘complete confidence’ in Jess Fassler, her former chief of staff who recently became campaign manager for her presidential bid.

“Taking questions for a few minutes outside the Capitol, Gillibrand said that the investigation was ‘thorough and professional,’ ‘thorough and complete,’ ‘professional and thorough,’ and also done ‘thoroughly and appropriately.’ She said she had no regrets about the way the office conducted the investigation, saying that ‘as we do in all cases, we take these kinds of allegations very seriously.’” POLITICO … Alex Thompson and Daniel Strauss’ original story

-- BOOKER STAFF MOVES … CNN’S REBECCA BUCK: “Julie McClain Downey, most recently the senior director of campaign communications for EMILY’s List ... has signed on as Booker’s national director of state communications. ... The campaign will also announce a New Hampshire communications director, tapping Chris Moyer, an alum of Democrat Molly Kelly’s gubernatorial campaign. ...

“Sabrina Singh, formerly deputy communications director for the DNC, will join Booker’s campaign as national press secretary. ... And Vanessa Valdivia has been hired for a dual role, as Nevada communications director and deputy national press secretary for Spanish language media.” CNN

-- “Beto O’Rourke to visit Iowa as 2020 announcement looms,” by CNN’s Rebecca Buck and Eric Bradner: “O’Rourke and his team shot a video released Monday to promote an Iowa Democrat running in a state Senate special election and O’Rourke will go to the state this weekend to participate in a get-out-the-vote event. The moves suggest O’Rourke is ramping up for a presidential bid, including his first trip to Iowa as a candidate or prospective candidate.” CNN … Video (which shows Beto wearing a “Northern Iowa” hat)

STEVEN SHEPARD: “‘Who is real, and who isn’t?’ Pollsters struggle to measure huge 2020 field”: “The logjam of nearly two dozen declared or likely Democratic presidential candidates is overwhelming public pollsters trying to measure the 2020 primary. New surveys are cramming up to 23 Democrats into their questionnaires after the [DNC] set a low, 1 percent polling threshold to gain admittance into the party’s first primary debates.

“The miles-long list of candidates has created an unusual set of methodological challenges for pollsters already battling declining engagement with their surveys. But pollsters say the criteria also put them in a no-win situation: A pollster’s decision about whether to include a candidate or not could be a make-or-break choice for that campaign, especially the lesser-known and first-time White House hopefuls hoping to make the debate stage.” POLITICO

THE JUICE …

-- LAUREN FINE is now communications director for HOUSE MINORITY WHIP STEVE SCALISE (R-LA.). She was previously press secretary for Scalise.

THE INVESTIGATIONS …

-- JOSH GERSTEIN: “Roger Stone’s lawyers tell judge: We didn’t try to hide anything”: “Lawyers for longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone told a federal judge Monday that they were not trying to hide anything from the court at a gag-order-related hearing last month where they failed to mention that Stone was in the midst of releasing a book trashing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

“In a submission ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, Stone attorney Bruce Rogow said it did not occur to him until after the Feb. 21 hearing that the newly crafted introduction for a paperback edition of Stone’s book on the 2016 campaign might land him in hot water.” POLITICO

A message from Amazon: Helping small businesses. Learn how Amazon is helping small businesses grow.

FLORIDA MAN … SUN-SENTINEL: “Gov. Ron DeSantis hitches ride to New York on South Florida gambling mogul’s jet; GOP picks up tab,” by Steve Bousquet: “DeSantis’ Feb. 28 excursion to New York — paid for by the Republican Party of Florida — was on a plane owned by Jeffrey Soffer, an Aventura real estate executive who owns the Fontainebleau resort hotel in Miami Beach and the Big Easy Casino, formerly Mardi Gras Casino, in Hallandale Beach.” Sun-Sentinel

TRUMP’S TUESDAY -- The president will be presented with the Boy Scouts’ report to the nation in the Oval Office at 11:45 a.m. He will participate in a signing ceremony of “The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act” at 1:45 p.m. in the Oval Office.

COMING ATTRACTIONS -- Ben White will once again be writing a special edition of Morning Money at the Milken Institute Global Conference from April 28 to May 2. Sign up now

PLAYBOOK READS

PHOTO DU JOUR: Office of Management and Budget staff deliver President Donald Trump’s budget request to Capitol Hill on Monday. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo

TRUMP INC. -- “New York Attorney General Opens Investigation of Trump Projects,” by NYT’s William Rashbaum and Danny Hakim: “The New York attorney general’s office late on Monday issued subpoenas to Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank for records relating to the financing of four major Trump Organization projects and a failed effort to buy the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League in 2014, according to a person briefed on the subpoenas. The inquiry opens a new front in the scrutiny of Deutsche Bank, one of the few lenders willing to do business with Donald J. Trump in recent years.” NYT

BORDER TALES -- “Top Officials Resign From Troubled Texas Charity for Migrants,” by NYT’s Nick Kulish, Kim Barker and Rebecca Ruiz

A message from Amazon: Amazon helps sellers grow. See how.

FOR YOUR RADAR -- “Boeing Scrambles to Contain Fallout From Deadly Ethiopia Crash,” by NYT’s David Gelles, Natalie Kitroeff and Hadra Ahmed: “More than a dozen airlines along with the governments of China and Indonesia grounded a new version of Boeing’s most popular jet on Monday, as the American aerospace giant scrambled to deal with the fallout from a deadly plane crash in Ethiopia. It was the second time in a matter of months that this model, the 737 Max 8, crashed just minutes after an erratic takeoff, leaving Boeing and safety regulators around the globe racing to determine what went wrong and whether the plane is safe to fly. ...

“Those similarities immediately provoked concern among carriers, pilots, flight attendants, passengers and investors. At least 20 airlines around the world have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes, largely in China and Indonesia. In all, more than 130 of the roughly 350 new jets that were in service have been pulled from use.” NYT

-- AP’S FABIOLA SANCHEZ and SCOTT SMITH in Caracas: “U.S. withdrawing last of its embassy personnel from Venezuela”: “The United States announced late Monday that it is pulling the remaining staff from its embassy in Venezuela, citing the deteriorating situation in the South American nation. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the decision as Venezuela struggles to restore electricity following four days of blackouts around the country and a deepening political crisis.” AP

Playbook PM Sign up for our must-read newsletter on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

MEDIAWATCH -- Bloomberg’s Josh Wingrove is joining its White House team in Washington. He previously covered the Canadian government and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

-- “New York magazine lays off staffers as publication undergoes restructuring,” by CNN’s Oliver Darcy: “New York Media, the parent company of New York magazine, laid off 16 full-time staffers and an additional 16 freelancers or part-time employees as the publication restructures, chief executive Pam Wasserstein said in a memo to employees on Monday. The cuts represent about 5% of New York Media’s full time staff.” CNN

PLAYBOOKERS

SPOTTED at the Fleetwood Mac concert Monday night at Madison Square Garden in NYC: Hillary Clinton, Adrienne Elrod, Jen Palmieri, Emily Bromberg, Steven Silverman and Jim Lyons. “The crew rocked to Fleetwood Mac the entire show and crowd roared when they saw HRC,” according to our tipster. Pic … NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, accompanied by Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg, at the College of Charleston vs. Drexel quarterfinal game at the CAA Tournament in North Charleston, S.C. Pic

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Lars Florio turned 5-0 (hat tip: Lyndon Boozer)

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Eric Shawn, co-anchor of Fox News’ “America’s News Headquarters” on weekends and host of “Riddle: The Search for James Hoffa” on Fox Nation. How he got his start in journalism: “My mom was an actress on the CBS soap opera ‘Search for Tomorrow’ and when I would visit her at the studio on West 57th Street, I would make a bee-line to the Cronkite newsroom and just hang out. ... I remember once peeking around the corner and looking into the glass wall of Cronkite’s office. I was thrilled to see Uncle Walter himself working at his desk, with a row of gold Emmys on his bookshelf above his head.” Playbook Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: Jake Tapper is 5-0 ... Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is 72 ... Carl Hiaasen is 66 ... former Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) is 71 ... Matt Bravo, principal at S-3 Group ... Andrew Young is 87 ... Eric Burns, founder/partner at Bullfight Strategies ... POLITICO’s Emily Stephenson and Justin Stuckey … Chris LaPlaca ... Lloyd Dobyns is 83 ... James Ball ... Alex Vargo (h/t Andrew Bell) ... Neil Fried ... Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) is 51 ... Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) is 69 ... Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) is 62 … Riley Barnes, senior adviser at State, is 32 ... Scott Comer ... HUD’s Ashley Ludlow ... Chase Delano ... Lewis Laskin ... Remi Yamamoto (h/t Ian Sams) ... Kathleen Siedlecki (h/t Jon Haber) ... Reed DesRosiers … Chris Ellis ... Rebekah Williams Lovorn (h/ts Ed Cash) ... Preston Maddock … Rachel Greenberg ...

… Marcy Stech, director of communications at Emerson Collective ... Slate’s Jim Newell is 34 (h/t Daniel Strauss) ... FT’s Peter Spiegel … HUD’s Jalen Drummond -- profile in the Randolph Leader ... Tara (Jeffries) Payne is 26 ... Aaron Magid is 3-0 ... Selma Bardakci ... Katie Armstrong … Adam Sullivan, assistant secretary for governmental affairs at DOT (h/t OST gov’t affairs) … Marshall Kosloff (h/t Saagar Enjeti) ... Elizabeth Hinson ... Julia Nista ... Melissa Ryan … Theresa Jansen … Jeff Miller ... Wroe Jackson ... State’s Kedenard Raymond ... Brian Weiss, VP of media affairs at USTelecom ... David Sheon, president and CEO of Whitecoat Strategies ... Noah Flessel ... Steven Stenberg, partner of the Strategy Group ... Aaron Kraus ... Sam Noel ... Jeff Lande … Yana Calou ... Talia Schmidt ... Nick Woodfield ... Rebecca Dishotsky … Stacey Grundman (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

A message from Amazon: Amazon helps independent sellers grow and thrive in our store. Read the story behind the growth of independent sellers—mostly small- and medium-sized businesses—in the Amazon store.

Follow us on Twitter Anna Palmer @apalmerdc



Jake Sherman @JakeSherman