| | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | Presented by the Coalition for Medicare Choices | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | 
VP JD Vance delivered a rebuke to European leaders in a speech before the Munich Security Conference on Friday. | Matthias Schrader/AP Photo | VP JD Vance put the Trump administration’s “America First” message on full display in a blistering speech at the Munich Security Conference today. He lobbed broadside attacks against European governments writ-large for, in his estimation, ignoring the will of their people, overturning elections, ignoring religious freedoms and not acting to halt illegal migration, POLITICO’s Paul McLeary, Jan Cienski, Suzanne Lynch and Robbie Gramer report from the scene. “It was a U.S.-style MAGA, red meat speech that eschewed detailed discussion of defense and security — the topic of the Munich Security Conference. Vance instead hit on some recent hot button cultural issues, from abortion laws in Britain to the recent election in Romania,” they write. What Vance said: “The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia. It’s not China, it’s not any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within. The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.” Declaring there’s a “new sheriff in town” with President Donald Trump, Vance told leaders “we may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square, agree or disagree.” Vance’s comments brought the audience of policy wonks and defense experts to a standstill, our colleagues note. “His speech focused largely on culture war issues and populism, with Vance accusing European governments and what he called European Union ‘commissars’ of being more interested in stifling free speech than in providing security for their citizens.” On the schedule: Vance met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today, where the two were expected to discuss negotiations for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Not on the schedule: A meeting with Russian officials. CNN’s Alayna Treene reports that neither Vance nor Secretary of State Marco Rubio are planning to hold formal discussions with Russian delegates in attendance at the conference, despite Trump’s assertion that they might. SPOTTED at the POLITICO Pub at the Munich Security Conference today: Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Kellyanne Conway, EU Ambassador to the U.S. Jovita Neliupšienė, Goli Sheikholeslami, Mathias Döpfner, Jamil Anderlini, Celeste Wallander, Chris Krebs, David H. Petraeus, Michael McFaul, David McAllister, Evelyn Farkas, Danielle Burr, Frank McCourt, Tomicah Tillemann, Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor, Julian Grey, Matthias Berninger, Bill Browder, Alexander De Croo, Markus Rauramo, Leonhard Birnbaum, Frank Niederlander, Rye Barcott, Ivo Daalder, Nate Tibbits, Rich Lesser, Anne-Marie Slaughter and Jens Spahn. What else is happening at the POLITICO Pub? You can see the full schedule here and follow our livestream all day. Keep up with all of POLITICO’s exclusive coverage here. TALK OF THIS TOWN — POLITICO Magazine’s Michael Schaffer pens his latest Capital City column: “A Top Federal Contractor Won’t Support a Pride Gathering — Because It’s Afraid of Trump’s DEI Rules” HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY, OR WHATEVER — “The 9 Trump World Breakups Waiting to Happen,” by POLITICO Magazine: “MAGA 2.0 has brought together unlikely teammates. But the honeymoon might not last.” Happy Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ll be off on Monday for Presidents Day. Playbook will still hit your inbox in the morning, and PM will be back on Tuesday afternoon. Drop me a line at gross@politico.com.
| | | | A message from the Coalition for Medicare Choices: Protect Medicare Advantage: 34 million seniors are counting on it.
Over half of America's seniors choose Medicare Advantage because it provides them better care at lower costs than fee-for-service Medicare. With their coverage and care on the line, seniors are watching closely to see whether policymakers keep the bipartisan promise to protect Medicare Advantage by ensuring this vital part of Medicare is adequately funded.
Learn more at https://medicarechoices.org/ | | | | | 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | 1. THE ADAMS FAMILY: New York Mayor Eric Adams went on “Fox and Friends” this morning, appearing alongside Trump border czar Tom Homan, responding directly to allegations that there was a quid pro quo deal struck between the mayor and Trump’s DOJ to drop the federal corruption charges against him. Adams said the notion that he engaged in any quid pro quo scheme was “silly” and noted that he has been advocating for immigration reforms in the city since 2022. And yet: Homan went on to say that if Adams “doesn’t come through” in delivering on Trump’s immigration agenda, “I’ll be in his office, up his butt, saying: ‘Where the hell is the agreement we came to?’” During the exchange, Adams’ face appeared to briefly fall mid-laugh as he processed Homan’s thinly veiled threat, which was delivered with a smile and a pat on the mayor’s arm, POLITICO’s Emily Ngo writes. Watch the full interview Related read: “Cuomo’s $8M war chest looms over New York City’s mayoral race,” by POLITICO’s Bill Mahoney 2. IMMIGRATION BY THE NUMBERS: “Trump’s immigration arrests appear to lag Biden's,” by Axios’ Russell Contreras and Brittany Gibson: “U.S. agents arrested more than 21,000 unauthorized immigrants in November as President Biden's term wound down — a pace the Trump administration doesn't appear to be matching in its first month despite its crackdown, an Axios review of new data finds. “Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, says about 14,000 immigrants have been arrested in the three-plus weeks since President Trump took office. One possible reason Trump's arrest rate isn't matching Biden's: The publicity surrounding the new president's tough talk on immigration has fueled a dramatic dip in the number of people trying to enter the U.S. illegally on the southern border. Homan said this week that illegal border crossings have dropped 92% since Trump took office Jan. 20.” The Republican reaction: The Bulwark’s Adrian Carrasquillo chronicles the rush from local Republican leaders across the country to “out-Trump” the president on immigration as they incentivize citizen participation: “Prospective laws in [Mississippi and Missouri] would allow residents to receive $1,000 a pop, to be paid if a tip on someone in the country illegally leads to an arrest. Meanwhile, the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy Act — yes, the TRUMP Act — became Florida law yesterday; among other things, it provides for any law enforcement officer who assists in the arrest of a person in the state illegally to receive a $1,000 bonus.” The real-world impact: Employers in the construction, food services and health care industries say that a “climate of fear has led to labor disruptions” as migrant workforces fret immigration raids and deportations across the country, WSJ’s Arian Campo-Flores and Chao Deng write. Related read: “The Undocumented Workers Who Helped Build Elon Musk’s Texas Gigafactory,” by Bloomberg’s Julia Love 3. IN THE DOGE HOUSE: The Pentagon is next up for Elon Musk’s DOGE team to dig into, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying earlier this week that he welcomes the government-efficiency effort. In anticipation of the landing, “some parts of the military are preparing lists of weapons they have long wanted to cancel but couldn’t get past lawmakers seeking to protect spending in their districts,” WSJ’s Nancy Youssef and Lindsay Wise report. “DOGE members are expected at the Defense Department as soon as Friday, defense officials said. The Pentagon has received a list of DOGE officials assigned to the department but hasn’t publicly released it.”
| | | | With a new administration in place, how will governors work with the federal government and continue to lead the way on issues like AI, health care, economic development, education, energy and climate? Hear from Gov. Jared Polis, Gov. Brian Kemp and more at POLITICO's Governors Summit on February 20. RSVP today. | | | | | 4. RAISE A GLASS: “Whiskey Offers Window Into the Pain of a Trade War,” by NYT’s Jeanna Smialek: “Tariffs on consumer products like bourbon generate news headlines and disproportionately hit specific geographies, inflicting a lot of political pain at a limited cost. And because the European Union’s whiskey tariffs are set to kick in automatically at the end of next month, they offer the continent a chance to exert pressure on the United States without having to come to a new political compromise, and without necessarily escalating a trade conflict. And right now, European leaders are trying to muster any leverage that they can.” 5. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Hamas said it plans to “release the last living American-Israeli civilian held hostage in Gaza along with two other men on Saturday, after negotiators resolved a dispute over the delivery of humanitarian aid that had threatened to derail the shaky cease-fire,” WSJ’s Feliz Solomon, Anat Peled and Summer Said report. “The militant group said it would free American-Israeli Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, Russian-Israeli Sasha Troufanov, 29, and Argentinian-Israeli Iair Horn, 46. Israel is expected to release 369 Palestinian prisoners in exchange, including 36 serving life sentences.” 6. SON OF A MITCH: Despite Sen. Mitch McConnell’s notable break with Republicans on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation as HHS secretary, Senate Majority Leader John Thune doesn’t expect his predecessor to suddenly go on an independent streak. “He’s got views on some of these nominees that maybe don’t track exactly with where I or other Republicans have come down, but we respect his positions on these,” Thune told Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser, adding: “I know that on a lot of big stuff ahead of us, he’s going to be with us.” Thune also touted the pace of confirmations that the chamber has churned out — currently ahead of the Trump 2017 and Biden 2021 pace — saying that it proves the Senate GOP is “united.” On his relationship with Trump, Thune said the two understand they must have a “constructive” partnership and indicated the two have been meeting “fairly regularly” in person, on the phone and over text. About that contact: “For Republican lawmakers, Trump’s accessibility creates opportunities — and headaches,” by Semafor’s Kadia Goba 7. GOIN’ TO CALIFORNIA: Top Trump aide Richard Grenell told reporters gathered at the Munich Security Conference today that he’s considering a run for governor in California — that is, if Kamala Harris jumps into the race. “I believe that she has such baggage and hundreds of millions of dollars in educating the voters of how terrible she is, that it’s a new day in California, and that the Republican actually has a shot, and I wouldn’t say no,” Grenell said, per POLITICO’s Irie Sentner. He previously flirted with a gubernatorial run in the Golden State back in 2021 before standing down right before the candidacy filing deadline.
| | | | We’ve re-imagined and expanded our Inside Congress newsletter to give you unmatched reporting on Capitol Hill politics and policy -- and we'll get it to your inbox even earlier. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | MEDIA MOVES — Ben Terris is the latest big name to leave the ranks at WaPo, joining N.Y. Mag as Washington correspondent, editor-in-chief David Haskell announced today. Also joining the mag are Erik Maza as editor-at-large and David Freedlander, Rebecca Jennings and Rachel Corbett as features writers. TRANSITIONS — Governing For Impact is adding Adam Grogg, John Lewis and Elisabeth Mabus. Grogg will be legal director and previously was deputy general counsel at OMB. Lewis will be deputy legal director and previously was a trial attorney for DOJ’s Federal Programs Branch. Mabus will be director of strategic initiatives and previously was deputy legal counsel in the Colorado governor’s office. 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 deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook PM misspelled Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s name.
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