| | | | |  | | By Bethany Irvine | Presented by ExxonMobil | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | |  This evening, President Joe Biden will announce that the U.S. military will establish a temporary seaport in Gaza. | Nathan Howard/Getty Images | MIDDLE EAST LATEST — President JOE BIDEN this evening will announce during his State of the Union address that the U.S. military will establish a temporary seaport in Gaza, effectively sidestepping a de facto Israeli blockade to allow more humanitarian aid in, Alex Ward reports, citing multiple Biden administration officials. The move to expand aid flows also includes “the opening of a third land crossing into Gaza, which the United Nations confirmed Thursday will allow aid to flow into the northern part of the territory.” The move raises immediate and serious questions, including to what degree the government of Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU is consenting to the plan, how the transfers of vital aid will be secured once they are in Gaza, and what it means for the future of U.S.-Israel relations and the multilateral effort to negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. This much is known, Alex reports: It will be a complex operation that could take 45 to 60 days to establish a “regular cadence of large assistance packages” into Gaza through Cyprus. And it will somehow be done without U.S. troops having to set foot in Palestinian territory: “The U.S. military has ‘unique capabilities’ that allow it to construct a port or causeway without having to send forces to Gaza’s shores, said one of the officials.” The planned announcement comes as Hamas withdrew at least temporarily from cease-fire talks in Cairo, with negotiations expected to resume next week. The departure makes “it extremely unlikely that mediators will broker a deal before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan,” AP’s Samy Magdy, Abby Sewell and Aamer Madhani report from Cairo — a milestone that Biden had cited as crucial last week. NOTABLE EXCHANGE — You can expect reproductive health care to be a key theme of Biden’s address tonight, after the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling put IVF in the legal crosshairs. Alabama lawmakers voted yesterday to reverse the court decision, and GOP Gov. KAY IVEY immediately signed the bill. But an interview with Speaker MIKE JOHNSON this morning illustrates how the IVF debate could continue to trip up Republicans. Speaking with CBS News’ Tony Dokoupil, the Louisianan Republican steered away from confirming whether he believed that discarding embryos — a key part of typical IVF procedures — amounted to murder, stating, “It’s something that we've got to grapple with. You know, it’s a brave new world. IVF’s only been invented, I think, in the early ’70s.” Pressed further, Johnson said, "If you do believe that life begins at conception, it's a really important question to wrestle with.” “You don’t want to say where you are on it personally?” Dokoupil continued. Said Johnson: “I think I have said. I believe in the sanctity of life, every life and I think it’s something we have to very carefully consider.” MINIBUS LATEST — WaPo’s Marianna Sotomayor notices signs that Johnson is finally accepting the fact that he’s not going to bring the hard-right faction of his conference on board with all of his decision — that’s good news to Johnson’s allies in the House, who have been “heartened by moments over the past week that they believe show he is more willing than previously thought to sideline detractors in an effort to find workable solutions.” And in the Senate … Now that the House has passed the first six-bill government funding package, the clock is ticking for the Senate to pass it before the Friday midnight shutdown deadline. Final passage is possible today, Katherine Tully-McManus reports, but that will require all 100 senators to agree on a deal to speed things up: “Republicans are likely to demand amendment votes in exchange for that fast-track process. (Though those proposals, which aren’t public yet, are unlikely to succeed.)” Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@politico.com.
| | | | A message from ExxonMobil: The world needs ways to reduce carbon emissions. At ExxonMobil, we’re working on solutions in our own operations – like carbon capture and clean energy from hydrogen – that could also help in other industries like manufacturing, commercial transportation and power generation, too. Helping deliver heavy industry with low emissions. | | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: MEET THE NRRC — Former DSCC Press Secretary CARA MORRIS and former DNC Executive Director TOM McMAHON are launching the National Republican Retirement Committee, a new PAC focused on IVF and other reproductive rights policies. Its initial launch is targeting Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas) with an ad targeting suburban women in Texas and soon-to-open merchandise store featuring, among other things, baby onesies that say "Ted Cruz Hates Me #IVFBaby." Watch the ad
| | 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | | 
Despite a demotion from the Pentagon, Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) has continued to refer to himself as a retired rear admiral. | Alex Wong/Getty Images | 1. THE DOCTOR IS OUT: In his work on the Hill and on his website, Rep. RONNY JACKSON (R-Texas) touts his past as a physician to presidents and his former military rank as a rear admiral, but WaPo’s Dan Diamond and Alex Horton scoop that the Texan Republican was actually demoted in 2022 after a Pentagon investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior at the White House: “Jackson is now a retired Navy captain … a demotion that carries significant financial burden in addition to the social stigma of stripped rank in military circles. Despite the demotion, Jackson has continued to refer to himself as a retired rear admiral, including in statements released since the Navy reclassified him as a retired captain.” Inside the investigation: “A Navy official confirmed that the service took unspecified action against Jackson in the wake of the 2021 inspector general’s report, which found that Jackson berated subordinates in the White House medical unit, ‘made sexual and denigrating statements’ about a female subordinate, consumed alcohol inappropriately with subordinates and consumed the sleep drug Ambien while on duty as the president’s physician.” 2. THE AGE-OLD QUESTION: Make America Great Again, the pro- DONALD TRUMP super PAC, aired a blistering new ad this morning during MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” mocking Biden’s age and even questioning his lifespan. The 30-second spot features a clip of Biden’s halting response to a question from a reporter with a voiceover asking, “If Biden wins, can he even survive till 2029? The real question is, can we?” The spot, which will continue airing for the next 24 hours on MSNBC, CNN, Fox News and Newsmax, “appeared designed to try to get under Mr. Biden’s skin at a pivotal moment, as he prepares to give the State of the Union and faces low job approval ratings against his predecessor,” NYT’s Maggie Haberman writes. 3. GEORGIA ON MY MIND: The Fulton County Board of Ethics has concluded that it does not have jurisdiction to hear two complaints against DA FANI WILLIS, who is under threat of disqualification as she moves closer to trying Donald Trump and associates, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution’s David Wickert reports: “The ethics board Thursday was set to hear two complaints related to allegations that Willis had an improper romantic relationship with special prosecutor NATHAN WADE and should be disqualified from the election case … [T]he stakes of the county ethics complaints filed last month were small. If the board found her guilty of violating ethics policies, Willis faced at most a reprimand and a $1,000 fine. But now even that won’t happen.” 4. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: Chinese Foreign Minister WANG YI warned today that efforts to improve relations between the two largest global economies could be at jeopardy because the U.S. was "obsessed" with repressing China, NBC News’ Jennifer Jett reports from Beijing: “Yi said there had been ‘some improvements’ in U.S.-China relations since Presidents Joe Biden and XI JINPING held a summit in California in November, their first encounter in a year. But the U.S. still has misperceptions about China and is seeking to restrict its development, Wang said.”
| | | | A message from ExxonMobil: Heavy industry accounts for nearly 30% of global carbon emissions. For these businesses, setting and achieving meaningful carbon-reduction goals can be complex. At ExxonMobil, we’ve been working on reducing our own carbon emissions. At our Baytown plant, one of the world’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical operations, we’re working to deploy hydrogen power and carbon capture to reduce emissions by up to 30%. Now, we’re taking solutions like these to others in heavy industry. Using our technologies, we can help these businesses create a plan to make similar reductions. And together, we can deliver a lower-emissions future. Let's deliver. | | | 5. DON’T FORGET THE DREAMERS: As immigration reform takes center stage in this year's election cycle, a recent WSJ poll finds that there is broad support from Americans for the type of comprehensive immigration reform that has struggled to get past the gridlock on Capitol Hill, WSJ’s Michelle Hackman and Aaron Zitner report. The poll of over 1700 registered voters found that 59% said they would support a bipartisan package similar to the one that failed in the Senate last month while around 74% support creating a pathway to citizenship for longtime immigrants living in the country illegally. 6. THE POWER BROKERS: WaPo’s Evan Halper is out with a deep dive on how the rapid growth of artificial intelligence. and “clean-tech” manufacturers across the country have left utility companies and regulators scrambling for ways to expand the nation’s overtaxed power grid: “The situation is sparking battles across the nation over who will pay for new power supplies, with regulators worrying that residential ratepayers could be stuck with the bill for costly upgrades. It also threatens to stifle the transition to cleaner energy, as utility executives lobby to delay the retirement of fossil fuel plants and bring more online.” Related read: “House AI task force leaders take long view on regulating the tools,” by WaPo’s Cristiano Lima-Strong 7. THE TAXMAN COMETH: “U.S. Seeks to Collect on Up to $20 Billion in Delinquent Covid Loans,” by WSJ’s Ruth Simon: “The Small Business Administration this week began referring as much as $20 billion in delinquent Covid disaster loans with balances of $100,000 or less to the Treasury Department for collection. … The referrals highlight the continued challenges for the Covid loan program, which provided financing to nearly four million small businesses and nonprofits.”
| | | | On the ground in Albany. Get critical policy news and analysis inside New York State. Track how power brokers are driving change across legislation and budget and impacting lobbying efforts. Learn more. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Kevin Bishop is running for a South Carolina House seat after leaving Lindsey Graham’s office. Biden will take aim at billionaires in tonight’s SOTU. SPOTTED bowling at the White House last night: Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a party for Jim Sciutto’s new book, “The Return of Great Powers: Russia, China, and the Next World War” ($30), at Meridian International Center last night: Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) and Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Gloria Riviera, Stuart and Gwen Holliday, José Andrés, Jonathan Keidan and Rachel Levitan, Matt Kaminski, Rachel Adler, Lucas Lam, Mary Louise Kelly, Thai Ambassador Tanee Sangrat, Norwegian Ambassador Anniken Krutnes, Portuguese Ambassador Francisco Duarte Lopes, Swiss Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud, retired Lt. Gen. James Clapper, Natalie Jones, Heather Florance, Sam Feist, Michael Callahan, Brianna Keilar, Boris Sanchez, Stephen Collinson, Michael Allen and Josh Eastright. — Gloria Dittus hosted a party for Nick Troiano’s new book, “The Primary Solution: Rescuing our Democracy from the Fringes” ($30), at her home last night. Daniel Lippman moderated a Q&A with Troiano, and Kathryn Murdoch and Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) gave remarks. SPOTTED: Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Michael Abramowitz, David Brock, Juleanna Glover, Jason Grumet, Sarah Longwell, Maya MacGuineas, Keith Urbahn, Judy Woodruff, Ami Aronson, Glenn Nye and Chad Sweet. — SPOTTED at an event to celebrate Women’s History Month hosted by Black Professionals in International Affairs and DACOR last night: Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, Saudi Ambassador Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, Tammie Smiley, Alexandria Maloney, Michelle Washington, Combiz Abdolrahimi, Michael Serwadda, Shawanesh Underwood, Shaz Akram, Dana Linnet, Alexandre Telfort Fils, Tasha Austin-Williams and Angela Dickey. WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Carli Kientzle is now a VP at Conexion. She previously has been chief of staff at the White House’s Office of Communications. ENGAGED — Hallie Angelo, account executive at MoKi Media, and Herbert Cacal, a business development associate at Ascend, got engaged Thursday. They met at a history of graphic design class at American University. 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 and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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