24 DAYS IN D.C.: FLYNN out -- Behind the scenes of Pence’s day -- THE JUICE: Democrat Stacy Kerr in talks to rep Ivanka; Gary Andres to BIO -- PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: Bill Gates Presented by





Driving the Day

Listen to Playbook in 90 Seconds http://bit.ly/2kmlrhZ … Subscribe on iTunes http://apple.co/2eX6Eay … Visit the online home of Playbook http://politi.co/2f51Jnf

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

963 DAYS. That’s how long an average National Security Adviser lasts. Michael Flynn resigned last night, ending his 24-day tenure (h/t Dan Diamond). Trump last night named Lt. Gen. Joseph Kellogg acting National Security Adviser.

-- THE ADMISSION OF GUILT, from Flynn’s resignation letter to Trump: “[B]ecause of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian Ambassador. I have sincerely apologized to the President and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology.” His letter http://politi.co/2lf4Snm

-- IMPORTANT INTEL from NYT’s Maggie Haberman, Matthew Rosenberg, Matt Apuzzo and Glenn Thrush: “Administration officials said it was unlikely that Mr. Kellogg would be asked to stay on as Mr. Flynn’s permanent replacement. Mr. Flynn brought Mr. Kellogg into the Trump campaign, according to a former campaign adviser, and the two have remained close. K. T. McFarland, the deputy national security adviser who also was brought on by Mr. Flynn, is expected to leave that role, a senior official said.

“One person close to the administration, who was not authorized to discuss the personnel moves and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that retired Vice Admiral Robert S. Harward is the leading candidate to replace Mr. Flynn, although Mr. Kellogg and David H. Petraeus are being discussed. It was not clear whether Mr. Petraeus is still expected to appear at the White House this week, as initially discussed by advisers to the president.” http://nyti.ms/2kFGqIr

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WAPO SCOOP -- “Justice Department warned White House that Flynn could be vulnerable to Russian blackmail, officials say,” by Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima and Phil Rucker: “The acting attorney general informed the Trump White House late last month that she believed Michael Flynn had misled senior administration officials about the nature of his communications with the Russian ambassador to the United States, and warned that the national security adviser was potentially vulnerable to Russian blackmail, current and former U.S. officials said. The message, delivered by Sally Q. Yates and a senior career national security official to the White House counsel, was prompted by concerns that ­Flynn, when asked about his calls and texts with the Russian diplomat, had told Vice ­President-elect Mike Pence and others that he had not discussed the Obama administration sanctions on Russia for its interference in the 2016 election, the officials said. It is unclear what the White House counsel, Donald McGahn, did with the information. ...

“For Yates and other officials, concerns about the communications peaked in the days after the Obama administration on Dec. 29 announced measures to punish Russia for what it said was the Kremlin’s interference in the election in an attempt to help Trump. After the sanctions were rolled out, the Obama administration braced itself for the Russian retaliation. To the surprise of many U.S. officials, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Dec. 30 that there would be no response. Trump praised the decision on Twitter. Intelligence analysts began to search for clues that could help explain Putin’s move. The search turned up [Russian Ambassador Sergey] Kislyak’s communications, which the FBI routinely monitors, and the phone call in question with Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general with years of intelligence experience.” http://wapo.st/2lKVPIE

-- NOTES: Isn’t it shocking that Flynn didn’t suspect the Russian ambassador’s phone calls were being listened in on? … This shows that, despite the unorthodox approach to everything, Trump is still operating under some D.C. norms: don’t lie to the VP, and have him embarrass himself on national television on multiple occasions … Kellyanne Conway went on television hours before he was canned saying he had Trump’s full confidence. That should give you some context … You have to imagine some sort of Hill investigation into this in some way, shape or form. There will be tons of noise. And Hill Republicans won’t be eager to protect Flynn.

CAPTURING THE MOMENT -- WAPO’S ASHLEY PARKER and PHIL RUCKER: “With President Trump in his fourth full week in office, the upheaval inside the administration that West Wing officials had optimistically dismissed as growing pains is now embedding itself as standard operating procedure. Trump -- distracted by political brushfires, often of his own making -- has failed to fill such key posts as White House communications director, while sub-Cabinet positions across agencies and scores of ambassadorships around the globe still sit empty. Upset about damaging leaks of his calls with world leaders and other national security information, Trump has ordered an internal investigation to find the leakers. Staffers, meanwhile, are so fearful of being accused of talking to the media that some have resorted to a secret chat app -- Confide -- that erases messages as soon as they’re read. The chaos and competing factions that were a Trump trademark in business and campaigning now are starting to define his presidency …

“Some senior officials are worried about their own standing with the president, who through his casual conversations with friends and associates sometimes seems to hint that a shake-up could come at a moment’s notice. Aides said they strive to avoid appearing ‘weak’ or ‘low­ energy’ -- two of Trump’s least favorite attributes. Staffers buzz privately about who is up and who is down, with many eagerly gossiping about which poor colleague gets an unflattering portrayal on NBC’s ‘Saturday Night Live.’ For the past two weeks, it has been White House press secretary Sean Spicer. But aides said Trump was especially upset by a sketch that cast White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon as the Grim Reaper manipulating the president -- who was ultimately relegated to a miniature desk, playing dolefully with an expandable toy.” http://wapo.st/2klXkjv Other notes from Ashley and Phil’s piece: Brian Jones, a McCain alum, said no to the communications director job. The White House has also reached out to Anne Marie Hauser, who works for the Senate Republican Conference.

ONLY IN PLAYBOOK -- INSIDE MIKE PENCE’S DAY -- Just hours before Flynn tendered his resignation, Vice President Mike Pence was on Capitol Hill meeting with groups of lawmakers about legislative goals. Pence ignored questions about Flynn from reporters, but didn’t seem flustered, upset or angry. He moved through the hallways, saying hi to reporters he knew, but stopping mostly for members of Congress. He glided past the speaker’s lobby -- the room that runs the distance of the House floor, where reporters chat with lawmakers -- and stopped for Texas Rep. Sam Johnson, a veteran House Republican who was sitting on his red motor scooter.

DURING THE HOUSE VOTE, Pence was in the House Republican cloakroom -- a hangout restricted to members of Congress -- where he was making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) brought his son Sean, who got a Pence-made PB&J. Pic http://bit.ly/2leWEeV.

AFTER THE HOUSE VOTE, Pence -- along with his massive entourage -- went to the weekly meeting of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of rabble-rousing conservatives not too dissimilar to Pence himself. He reminded them that he, too, was once a House conservative fighting the establishment. The Freedom Caucus is the group that helped topple John Boehner, and Pence quipped that he once ran against the Ohio Republican for House majority leader, but was beat -- badly. The Freedom Caucus gave Pence a standing ovation. Hours later, Flynn -- the man that lied to Pence -- became the first person ousted from Donald J. Trump’s White House.

READ THIS -- “Trump turns Mar-a-Lago Club terrace into open-air situation room,” by WaPo’s David Fahrenthold and Karen DeYoung. http://wapo.st/2leSN1l



A message from Google: 50+ new features to help educators. As educators worldwide have reinvented their practices, Google products are also adapting to help them meet their evolving needs and challenges. At “The Anywhere School,” a virtual back-to-school event, Google introduced over 50 new features across Meet, Classroom, G Suite and more. Watch on demand.

THE JUICE …

-- BUZZ: STACY KERR, a former special assistant to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, is in talks to do consulting work for Ivanka Trump. The two have a shared interest in working on issues affecting women and girls, according to a source familiar with the conversations. Kerr, who served as chief communications officer at Georgetown University, recently hung a shingle to start her own firm, Kerr Strategies. Kerr declined to comment.

-- DAMIAN PALETTA is leaving the Wall Street Journal’s DC bureau to cover economics for the Washington Post.

-- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: GARY ANDRES, longtime Republican staff director on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is joining the Biotechnology Innovation Organization as senior executive vice president of public affairs. As staff director, Andres managed a staff of nearly 70 people and oversaw a $7 million budget. The former deputy assistant of legislative affairs under President George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush has also help multiple positions downtown, including several years at Dutko Worldwide.

-- SCOOP: THE EMPLOYMENT POLICIES INSTITUTE is launching a weeklong 60-second commercial in the D.C. market during MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” backing Trump labor nominee Andy Puzder. The ads, which feature testimonials from Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s employees, will also run during “Hannity,” “O’Reilly Factor” and “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” The group is spending $40,000 on the buy, which is part of a larger push to support Puzder. The ad http://bit.ly/2l3cFSR

-- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Phil LaRue has been fired as director of government relations at the Concord Coalition after he gave a recent speech against the immigration ban in front of Republican Rep. Ryan Costello’s office in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The Concord Coalition is a group focused on budgetary issues. “It was made clear to me that a speech I gave regarding the Trump Muslim ban was the sole reason for my termination. I am not, nor will I ever be, sorry for what I said,” LaRue told Playbook. Chris Colligan, the group’s deputy director, told us, “[H]e was fired for being political and making a political speech. We are a nonpartisan organization. We don’t endorse or speak out in a political way. ... It had nothing to do with the content of the speech.” See video of his 3 min. speech http://bit.ly/2ksa2rV

-- NEIL GORSUCH will meet today with Sens. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.).

THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: Bill Gates

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has always been hesitant to play the Washington game. But the world’s richest man, who now focuses on global health and development through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has a newfound appreciation for the need to aggressively engage with American and foreign governments as he tries to fight disease and eradicate inequality around the world.

“I’ve had to learn a lot about working with governments in this foundation role because we’re partnered together,” Gates said in an expansive recent Playbook Interview at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation offices in Seattle, touching on everything from the progress the nonprofit has made over the past 10 years on children’s health to the potential impact of Donald Trump’s presidency on their work.

“When I was in the tech business that wasn’t so key. There is a whole debate about, was I in particular naïve about spending time with government or not,” he said. “That’s way, way behind me. At this point, I guess you could say it’s a tiny bit of irony my second career involves so much working with government.”

Gates and his wife Melinda have joined with Warren Buffett in pledging to give away most of their multi-billion-dollar fortunes. Gates sat down with us ahead of the release of their 10th annual letter, touting the work they have done to reduce childhood mortality rates and increase access to vaccines in poor countries. Video of Bill and Melinda Gates discussing their annual letter http://bit.ly/2lJ3reI … The Gates’ 2017 annual letter http://bit.ly/2l19TxI

TRUMP’S UNCLEAR IMPACT: “I had a meeting with Trump in December and the appointees like secretary of state, or defense, OMB, a lot of jobs that affect us until those people are confirmed we won’t have meetings, but in the next month or two that opportunity will start. … So we’ll engage, including myself personally, with all these key people just like we have in every administration. We always want more, but I would be happy if the aid-related things were kept at the levels they are right now … It’s really hard to tell because if you cut the budget dramatically, which a few times that’s been tried, you might worry that foreign aid would be disproportionately cut, not just linearly cut … Even within foreign aid there are some categories like spending on embassies and things that might not be cut, so by the time you cascade down to helping primary health care, USAID type money, it’s hard to say. Fortunately, a very good case can be made for it, but that’s no guarantee.”

BREXIT HASN’T CAUSED MAJOR FUNDING CUTS… YET: “The big thing that happened as part of that is David Cameron, who is a huge personal champion for this stuff and even George Osborne, his chancellor, have left the office. And now so we have Theresa May and a new set of people and they changed the [secretary of state for international development] to Priti Patel. Now in terms of understanding their-- what parts of the aid thing they are excited about, what they are concerned about and getting them sort of personally engaged in it, we are early in that process. And, within the conservative party there are aid skeptics, I guess you can find them almost anywhere. There are certainly some parts of the conservative party who wouldn’t do that and so getting the word out about how it’s good, talking with her, that’s definitely something we’re engaged in. I don’t think there is any risk in the next year.”

TECH WORLD HAS BECOME MORE SAVVY DEALING WITH WASHINGTON: “Because the tech industry has been so successful in being mainstream in life itself … it means to some degree they can’t avoid this notion of, ‘Are you a censor, should you block certain things?’ ... The tech sector is huge in terms of what’s going on to the future of the country so they get drawn in, sometimes somewhat reluctantly to that. … I mean, certainly Brad Smith and the work he’s done for a long time at getting Microsoft to be better at that stuff sort of post-DOJ, I’m quite impressed with what he’s done and all the tech guys learn from each other. Some might find themselves a little behind the game. Facebook -- which is a great company, I love Mark -- they even at an early stage had to be – at least we had 10 years where nobody knew who we were and we could politely ignore D.C. — they even in their first decade have been pulled in because of the nature of their product and explosive uptake they have.” http://politi.co/2l3AfyQ

HAPPENING TODAY -- Trump has teachers and parents at the White House. He is lunching with Gov. Chris Christie and his wife and will meet with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly in the afternoon.

PAUL RYAN TO TEXAS -- “House Speaker Paul Ryan scheduled for McAllen visit,” by the McAllen Monitor’s Carlos Sanchez: “U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is scheduled to visit McAllen next week for a daylong tour of the border as the issue of immigration heats up in Washington, D.C., several sources said. Ryan, who was also the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2012, is expected to be accompanied by several key Republican House leaders for a tour with the U.S. Border Patrol on Feb. 22, the sources said. U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, who serves as chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, is scheduled to join Ryan on the tour, said the sources, who would not use their names because they were not authorized to divulge details of the visit. U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, who is chairman for the House Homeland Security Subcommittee, is also scheduled to join the delegation touring the region, sources said.” http://bit.ly/2lbyvpG

TOMORROW ON MORNING JOE -- Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell.

Playbook Reads

PHOTO DU JOUR: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is greeted by House Speaker Paul Ryan on Capitol Hill on Feb. 13. | Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

WSJ’S BRODY MULLINS BOMBSHELL -- “The Rise and Fall of a K Street Renegade: Evan Morris, a high-flying corporate lobbyist, is suspected of embezzling millions of dollars in what is shaping up to be a sprawling Washington influence scandal”: “Few outside Washington had ever heard of Evan Morris. Yet in the capital of wheeling and dealing, he was one of its most gifted operators. From his start as an intern in the Clinton White House, he made powerful friends and at age 27 became a top Washington lobbyist for Roche Holding AG of Switzerland, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. …

“As head of the company’s Washington office, Mr. Morris oversaw a budget that over a decade ballooned to about $50 million a year and supported hundreds of lobbyists and consultants. His apparent success afforded luxuries including $2,000 bottles of wine, a $3 million waterfront vacation home, a $300,000 mahogany speedboat and four Porsches. He belonged to eight private golf courses and hired top chefs to cook for dinner parties at his home. He married and had two children. … Government investigators now suspect Mr. Morris embezzled millions of dollars from his company over a decade in a kickback scheme involving Washington consultants he did business with, according to people familiar with the probe by the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is shaping up to be one of the biggest U.S. investigations into Washington’s influence business since the bribery and corruption case surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff rocked the nation’s capital in the mid-2000s.

“Investigators are trying to determine if any of the lobbyists, media advisers, political strategists and consultants hired by Mr. Morris had helped hide alleged kickback payments, which could yield fraud or other charges. Federal prosecutors have already presented evidence to a grand jury. Millions of dollars went missing from the Washington accounts overseen by Mr. Morris, said people familiar with the findings of an internal company investigation. The inquiry concluded that ‘a senior vice president of the company had violated our policies and procedures,’ a spokesman said. Prosecutors are investigating whether Mr. Morris took company money to pay for real estate, golf memberships, Rolex watches, fancy wine and cigars.” http://on.wsj.com/2leFfCZ

GOP DIVIDED ON OBAMACARE -- “Conservatives balking at GOP leadership’s Obamacare plans,” by Rachael Bade: “House conservatives -- anxious that the GOP’s effort to end Obamacare is getting bogged down in the fight over what a replacement should look like - are plotting a major push to repeal the law immediately without simultaneously approving an alternative. The House Freedom Caucus and a number of Republican Study Committee members this week will urge Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and his lieutenants to forego their plan to add replacement provisions to a repeal bill, dubbed ‘repeal-plus.’ Instead, they want to approve the same standalone repeal bill that Congress sent to President Barack Obama in 2016. … The stand by several dozen hardliners comes as House GOP leaders were planning to outline the main planks of a replacement blueprint at a series of informational sessions with rank and file member Tuesday and Thursday. The position is at odds with GOP leadership's latest strategy to load up a spring repeal bill - which could pass both chambers on party lines using a tool called reconciliation - with as many replacement provisions as possible.” http://politi.co/2lKyZzW

ON THIN ICE -- “Labor secretary nominee Andrew Puzder in jeopardy,” by CNN’s John King: “Four Republican senators have told GOP leadership they are withholding support for President Donald Trump’s choice for labor secretary, setting off an intense effort by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and business groups to bring at least two back into the fold so that the nomination does not fail, several sources involved in the effort tell CNN. The four, these sources say, are GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Tim Scott of South Carolina and Johnny Isakson of Georgia.” http://cnn.it/2lFpaHJ

--“Oprah gives tape with Puzder abuse allegations to Senate,” by Burgess Everett and Marianne Levine: “Senators in both parties have viewed an episode of ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ in which President Donald Trump’s Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder’s former wife leveled allegations of physical abuse against him ... The decades-old video, which is not easily found, has been provided by the Oprah Winfrey Network, those sources said. The video has been provided to senators in a Capitol Hill office building, according to people who have seen it.” http://politi.co/2l3mwYO



WHERE TRUMP’S BAN STANDS -- “Seattle judge lets Trump travel ban suit roll on,” by Josh Gerstein: “A judge in Seattle has turned down the federal government’s request to put a lawsuit there on hold while an appeals court mulls further action regarding President Donald Trump's travel ban executive order. At a hearing Monday, U.S. District Court Judge James Robart rejected the Justice Department's call for a delay and invoked Trump’s own Twitter comments seeming to seek quick action in the case. ‘I thought the president said we’ll see you in court?’ Robart said, according to a KOMO-TV reporter present at the hearing. Robart declared that the case involved a ‘very sensitive time issue,’ so should not be slowed down, the Associated Press reported. Lawyers for the states of Washington and Seattle had urged Robart to allow the suit to move forward, likely to a phase where discovery into the facts and circumstances behind the issuance of Trump's Jan. 27 could be explored.” http://politi.co/2kOceNO

-- “Judge grants injunction against Trump travel ban in Virginia,” by AP’s Matthew Barakat in McLean: “The ruling is significant from a legal standpoint because U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema found that an unconstitutional religious bias is at the heart of the travel ban, and therefore violates First Amendment prohibitions on favoring one religion over another. She said the evidence introduced so far indicates that Virginia's challenge to the ban will succeed once it proceeds to trial. [T]he ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals was rooted more in due process grounds, said Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat who brought the lawsuit against Trump in Virginia. ‘Judge Brinkema’s ruling gets right to the heart of our First Amendment ... claim,’ Herring said in a conference call Monday night.

“In her 22-page ruling, Brinkema writes that Trump’s promises during the campaign to implement what came to be known as a ‘Muslim ban’ provide evidence that the current executive order unconstitutionally targets Muslims. ‘The president himself acknowledged the conceptual link between a Muslim ban and the EO (executive order),’ Brinkema wrote. She also cited news accounts that Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani said the executive order is an effort to find a legal way for Trump to be able to impose his Muslim ban. Herring said that ‘the overwhelming evidence shows that this ban was conceived in religious bigotry.’” http://apne.ws/2lKN9AZ

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS TO TRUMP: MEET WITH US! WE EXIST -- Freshman New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and New York GOP Rep. Tom Reed have sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking for a meeting to discuss tax reform and investing in infrastructure. Other signatories: Reps. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.), Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.). The letter http://politi.co/2lbkEjt

MEDIAWATCH -- “Reporters turn on each other over Trump,” by Hadas Gold: “Reporters expressed frustration with President Donald Trump and anger toward their fellow journalists after Trump managed to avoid addressing the question of the day at his Monday press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — the fate of his national security adviser, Michael Flynn.” http://politi.co/2lFgtgo

-- “Scott Pelley, Lester Holt, David Muir: The Unprecedented Joint Interview,” by Variety’s Brian Steinberg: http://bit.ly/2kmikXf

SNEAK PEEK -- This coming Sunday’s NYT Mag features a new cover story by the one and only Robert Draper -- “Will Obamacare Really Go Under the Knife?”: “[I]n the months since Trump’s victory, many of the lawmakers ... had become increasingly worried about how they would go about undoing the legislation. ... Should they enter what Representative John Faso, a New York Republican, called the ‘political minefield’ of defunding Planned Parenthood as part of the package? For that matter, should they really be rushing to repeal the A.C.A. before they had any idea of what would replace it? Looming over the gathering was a question that it was perhaps now too late to ask: Had Republicans become trapped by their pledge to do away with Obamacare?” http://nyti.ms/2kO8ewF ... The cover http://bit.ly/2kmhn1d



Playbookers

SPOTTED: Jesse Rodriguez, Michael LaRosa and Jeremy Peters dining last night at Doi Moi ... Kenny Day with his wife Sylvia celebrating the 13th anniversary of their engagement at Lupo Verde … Rev. Al Sharpton yesterday at DCA.

TRACY’S KIDS FUNDRAISER: Karen Pence, a Tracy’s Kids board member, and Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill were on hand for the charity’s annual fundraiser. SPOTTED: Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and his wife Marcelle Leahy, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), charity founder Matt Gerson and Comcast’s David Cohen.

OUT AND ABOUT -- More than 500 people attended “Humanity of Connection” -- AT&T’s Black History Month event -- at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. “Homeland” star Hill Harper and MC Lyte hosted the event, which honored Judy Smith, the inspiration for “Scandal’s” Olivia Pope, and NBA Hall of Fame guard Isiah Thomas. Guests saw a short film by Keith Clinkscales, and heard remarks by the Rev. Al Sharpton and Instagram poet and model Cleo Wade. The cocktail reception preceding the event had a macaroni and cheese bar and donut station.

SPOTTED: Top executives from AT&T including: Bob Quinn, Claudia Jones, David Huntley and Tanya Lombard; Michelle Ebanks, Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.), Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.), Lynda Johnson Robb, Jesse Jackson, Minyon Moore, Mignon Clyburn, William Clyburn, Howard Fineman and Amy Nathan, Joyce Brayboy, Tiffany Kellogg, Tola Thompson, Jesse Price, Lyndon Boozer, Mike Balmoris, Dontai Smalls, Patsy Thomason, Dave Grimaldi, Andre Wells, Tom Quinn, Stephanie Bates, Tony Powell, Lucinda Robb, Susan Santana, Katreice Banks, Gina Adams

TRANSITIONS -- The ONE Campaign has named Gayle E. Smith as president and CEO. She most recently was administrator of USAID ... The Project On Government Oversight hired Nick Schwellenbach as its director of investigations. Nick most recently spent three years as comms director at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel ... WilmerHale hired Timothy G. Martin for the firm’s dynamic public policy and legislative affairs group. Martin was previously legislative director for Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), with a focus on transportation, financial services, natural resources and agriculture … Mercury has hired Brian Swensen to its public affairs team in Florida as SVP; he previously was deputy campaign manager for Sen. Marco Rubio’s re-elect.

... Rachel VerVelde started as Rep. Glenn Grothman’s (R-Wis.) chief of staff. Ryan Croft has been promoted to Grothman’s legislative director. ... Xakota Espinoza next week starts as senior media relations associate for Race Forward and Colorlines. She has worked for the last year and a half for BerlinRosen. ... Sam LaHood is now director of government and external affairs for the International Republican Institute. He previously helped manage the Asia division.

OBAMA ALUMNI -- Former HHS chief of staff and Treasury assistant secretary for legislative affairs Al Fitzpayne will start at the Aspen Institute later this month, where he will become the executive director of Aspen’s Future of Work Initiative.

NEW DIGS FOR AMERICA RISING/DEFINERS – America Rising executive director Colin Reed tells Playbook: “Monday was the first day for America Rising and Definers in our new office, located across the street from our old digs on Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn. The space is brand new, custom made for our ever growing team, takes up a whole floor, and includes a state of the art war room. The move has been in the works for a year-a-and-a half as we began outgrowing our old office. While some things are new, the decorations on the walls remain the same: tributes and framed newspaper accounts of the Democrats we have helped defeat.” Pics http://politi.co/2leElWY ... http://politi.co/2laUQ6Q ... http://politi.co/2lKjwQi … http://politi.co/2kFwoqG

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Tiffany Waddell, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s DC director of federal relations, her husband, Alex, and big sister Savannah Joy (age 4) are thrilled to announce the arrival of their new baby boy, Brady Alexander Waddell. “Brady blessed our family on Friday, February 10th at 8:36 a.m., weighing 9 lbs, 6 oz and 21.5 inches.” Pic http://bit.ly/2lFeOHK

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz, the pride of Idaho Falls, celebrating with a family dinner at Centrolina -- read her Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2lFophQ

BIRTHDAYS: Mayor of the World Michael Bloomberg is 75 ... Carl Bernstein is 73 ... Stephen A. Schwarzman is 7-0 ... Hugh Downs is 96 ... former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) is 7-0 ... Oscar Ramirez is 42 -- he is celebrating by doing a low key family dinner and his annual eating of steak at Mastro’s (h/ts Steph, Dug, Lucy and Jon Haber) … Ede Holiday, President George H.W. Bush’s Cabinet Secretary; and Treasury counsel, the first woman to occupy that job … Ed Patru, V.P. at DCI Group … Karen Anderson, executive director of Results for All, an Obama CEA, Clinton and Brookings alum, the pride of Athens, Ga., and sweetheart of the economics set … Alan Blinder, who covers the South for the NYT, based in Atlanta ... Politico’s Kat McKibben ... Andrew LaCasse, senior education staffer on Senate HELP and advisor to Sen. Lamar Alexander, is 31 (h/t Moira Vahey) ... the eternally youthful Jon Sawyer, the pride of Winston-Salem, former Washington bureau chief of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and executive director of DC-based The Pulitzer Center, is 65 ... the late Massachusetts Sen. Paul Tsongas would have turned 76 ... Evan Kraus, president at APCO Worldwide ... Pete Solecki (h/ts Anthony DeAngelo) ... Dave Cuzzi, president of Prospect Hill Strategies and a BAE and Sununu alum … Jamie Vilmain ... Sakina Jaffrey, who played chief of staff Linda Vasquez on “The House of Cards” ... John Buckley … Sheila Riggs ... Kate Sullivan (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... Brooke Lierman ... Jen Pihlaja (h/ts Sean Johnson) ... Marty Markowitz is 72 ... Steve Tisch is 68 ... Fresh Air’s Terry Gross is 66 (h/ts Jewish Insider) ... Jacob Luneau, president of Red Pelican Strategies in Baton Rouge … Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) is 68 …

... Jeremy Robbins, executive director of the Partnership for a New American Economy, is 37 (h/ts Sarah Doolin and Ryan Williams) … Dan Walsh, SVP of Valente and Associates and a Greenberg Traurig alum ... Hannah VanHoose, LA for Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mt.) ... Bobby Honold ... The Hill’s Cristina Marcos ... Amanda Litman, co-founder of Run for Something and former director of email for Hillary for America ... Ohio State Rep. Wesley Goodman, a Conservative Action Project and Jim Jordan alum ... photographer Rod Lamkey … the U.S. Chamber’s favorite Aussie, Mark Elliot, EVP of the Chamber’s Global Intellectual Property Center ... Sharon Daniels ... Matt Angle, former DCCC executive director and former COS to Rep. Martin Frost … Galen Main ... Carlos Sanchez, a Pelosi alum now COS for Rep. Joaquin Castro … Colin Van Ostern ... Jenny Nielsen ... Sarosh Mahdi ... WaPo alum John Vockley ... Neal Mann ... Bill Beach ... Alan Feinberg Jr. ... Griff Hathaway ... Lindsay Jackson … Mike Inganamort … WJLA’s Brianne Carter … Gwendolyn Elaine ... Teller (Penn and Teller) is 69 ... Simon Pegg is 47 (h/ts AP)

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Follow us on Twitter Anna Palmer @apalmerdc



Jake Sherman @JakeSherman