Principals

1. Biden’s Jan. 6 offensive
2. Foreign cash at Trump properties
3. Meet Nikki Haley’s top aide
4. CNN town hall takeaways
5. Another GOP retirement
6. Netanyahu’s U.S. image problem

PDB: Johnson memo says White House uses “debunked” talking points on border security

Blinken to the Middle East … Last 2023 jobs report out at 8:30 a.m. … NYT: African migration to the U.S. soars

— edited by Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann and Morgan Chalfant

Joe Biden looks to remind voters why Jan. 6 matters

President Biden will use the upcoming anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot to frame his likely rematch with Donald Trump in his speech today in Valley Forge. “The president will make the case directly that democracy and freedom — two powerful ideas that united the 13 colonies and that generations throughout our nation’s history have fought and died for a stone’s throw from where he will be — remain central to the fight we’re in today,” Biden deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks told reporters. The Biden campaign is also out with a new ad that features footage of Jan. 6, as well as the 2017 tiki torch marchers in Charlottesville, to portray the president as a bulwark against “an extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs in our democracy.” Trump has only embraced Jan. 6 — which he has called a “beautiful day” — and its participants more since leaving office, saying he will pardon “many” rioters who have been charged in connection to the attack on the Capitol. He personally contributed his voice to a song recording with Jan. 6 defendants, including some accused of assaulting police officers, to raise money for their cause — and played it at his first campaign rally. “Our people love those people,” Trump said at the rally, referring to the prisoners.

House Democrats unearth Trump’s foreign cash

Donald Trump’s businesses collected millions from foreign governments while he was still president, according to a new 156-page report from Democrats on the House Oversight Committee. Of the $7.8 million uncovered in their yearslong investigation, which ended when Republicans took control of Congress, $5.5 million came from Chinese entities and another $615,000 from Saudi Arabia. Trump’s various conflicts of interest were a recurring story throughout his presidency, but the Democrats’ work puts names and numbers to the issue. Eric Trump defended the payments as ordinary business and said the Trump Organization made annual Treasury payments to offset foreign profits, but Democrats and some ethics experts held up the new information as evidence Trump violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause, which states that federal officials cannot accept gifts from foreign governments without approval from Congress. As Democrats were quick to note, the report’s release also comes as House Republicans are pursuing an impeachment probe into unsupported allegations that Biden profited off his family’s foreign business dealings. “It’s a contrast that shows how weak their investigation is,” a Democratic aide told Semafor. In a statement, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. said it was “beyond parody that Democrats continue their obsession with former President Trump” and argued that the former president “has legitimate businesses but the Bidens do not.”

— Morgan Chalfant

Nikki Haley’s quiet adviser

Nikki Haley may be the last candidate standing against Donald Trump, and she’s certainly the top challenger who picked a campaign strategy and stuck to it. The nearly anonymous figure behind that strategy is Jon Lerner, her loyal partner in politics since 2009, and the opposite of the high-profile, storytelling campaign guru. Lerner, who hates political profiles and didn’t cooperate with Semafor’s Ben Smith and Shelby Talcott on theirs, favors slashing, poll-driven political ads and clear, careful messaging — a good fit with the disciplined and ambitious former South Carolina governor. He’s also tightly aligned with her pro-Israel foreign policy and old-fashioned, small-government conservatism. Haley is a longshot — but she has a shot, and Lerner deserves some of the credit. Read the profile for a deep look into Haley’s mirror, and feast your eyes on the only available photograph of the man.

Iowa shooting casts shadow over DeSantis, Haley town halls

Hours after a school shooting in Iowa, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley spoke to voters in back-to-back CNN town halls in the state. Both candidates largely stuck to what they’ve been saying in events with voters — DeSantis reiterated his support for a flat tax, and Haley even brought back around some of her answers and stories from the network’s town hall last year — but notable moments included their responses to the shooting and the broader question of proposed solutions: DeSantis, asked how he’d address school gun violence without rolling back gun rights, told voters in attendance his state has “done everything” including issuing help to “identify students that are exhibiting really problematic behavior.” He also voiced support for “instant” background checks. Haley pivoted to mental health and securing schools while arguing that restricting certain guns is not a solution — just a measure to make Americans “feel better.” Meanwhile, on abortion, DeSantis sparked some online drama after he declared that frontrunner Donald Trump was not a pro-life president, prompting team Trump to blast out messages about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade.

— Shelby Talcott

Say goodbye to another senior Republican

Another senior Republican is bolting from the House: Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., said Thursday that he won’t seek re-election in 2024, joining a growing handful of top GOP members who are choosing to retire in the wake of last year’s bruising leadership and spending fights. The eight-term congressman was seen as a lead contender to replace outgoing Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C. as the chief Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, a role that would have given him a key say on banking and securities legislation and likely positioned him as a powerful fundraiser. His retirement leaves Rep. French Hill, a crypto-friendly Republican from Arkansas, as the favorite for the role. The list of House Republicans planning to depart next year already included big names such as McHenry and Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger, R-Texas. Liam Donovan, a GOP lobbyist, said the decision facing Luetkemeyer boiled down to “whether he’d want to spend his golden years with a plum perch in a deeply dysfunctional chamber.” Donovan added that “ordinarily the prospect of the gavel might make for a great capstone, but the majority experience has been bleak enough without the risk of losing the chamber.”

— Joseph Zeballos-Roig

Netanyahu is underwater in the U.S.

With his popularity already in tatters at home, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also appears to be facing an image crisis in the United States as the war in Gaza wears on. A record 47% of Americans now have an unfavorable view of the longtime leader, according to Gallup’s polling; it’s the first time since 1997 that his ratings have been underwater in the U.S. Netanyahu’s standing has declined among voters in both major parties, but remains much higher among Republicans (55% see him favorably) than Democrats (14% see him favorably). Americans also remain broadly supportive of his country: 62% tell Gallup that Washington is either supporting the Jewish state the right amount, or too little. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Israel today as he embarks on his fourth trip through the Middle East since the war’s start. The trip comes as concerns grow about a potential larger regional conflict following the killing of a Hamas leader in Beirut, a deadly bombing in Iran claimed by the Islamic State, a U.S. drone attack in Baghdad that killed the leader of an Iran-linked militant group, and and continued Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the waters off Yemen.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: Speaker Mike Johnson is talking about potentially opening direct negotiations with the White House on border security policy changes, viewing any Senate agreement as unlikely to pass the House.

Playbook: Nikki Haley’s campaign is out with a new ad in New Hampshire featuring Don Bolduc, a previously pro-Trump Senate candidate in the state in 2020 and 2022, talking about why he’s backing Haley. “Look, I’m MAGA all the way. I’ve always been America First. But this time, I’m for Nikki Haley for president … With Trump, there’s too many distractions.”

Axios: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council spokesman John Kirby have a tense relationship behind the scenes, as Kirby becomes a more influential figure in Bidenworld.

White House

• President Biden will speak in Philadelphia this afternoon, before heading home to Wilmington, Del.
• U.S. intelligence shows that Russia acquired ballistic missiles from North Korea and fired at least one of them into Ukraine in late December, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
• Jon Meacham was at the White House for the second time in as many days, as Biden prepared for his Jan. 6 speech. — Bloomberg

Congress

• Speaker Mike Johnson’s office is circulating a memo accusing the White House of using “debunked” talking points to “mislead” about House Republicans’ border security funding record.
• A local New York reporter dug up 2014 video evidence of now-Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. performing a surprisingly competent moonwalk.

• The family of the late former Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas plans to sue a hospital where she recovered from back surgery last year, alleging negligent care.

Outside the Beltway

• A 17-year-old student opened fire at Perry High School in Iowa, killing a sixth grader and injuring several others.
• Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin may have had a disappointing legislative election last November, but his approval rating in the commonwealth still standing strong at 58% (slightly higher than it was the previous year).

Economy

In the 2010s, U.S. growth was led by so-called “superstar cities” on the East and West Coasts. But since the pandemic, metro areas in the South and Mountain West are leading the way, as economist Joey Politano explains at Apricitas. Florida and Texas alone have counted for one-in-three new American jobs since the pandemic, he notes, helped along by booming construction as well as an influx of white-collar workers.

Polls

• Harvard University’s net favorability among American adults has dropped 15 points since June, most precipitously among Republicans, according to new data from Morning Consult.
• About a quarter of all Americans — and 34% of Republicans — believe the FBI “organized and encouraged” the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to a poll from the Washington Post and the University of Maryland. Another 26% of adults — and 34% of Republicans — say they “aren’t sure.”

2024

• Donald Trump met with Teamsters boss Sean O’Brien, as the prominent union decides who to back in 2024. The union endorsed President Biden, who describes himself as the most pro-union president, in 2020.
• Vivek Ramaswamy sold over $30 million in shares from his biotech company and plans to spend some of the money on his campaign.
• Remember Steven Mnuchin? The former Treasury secretary has apparently kept his distance from the Trump campaign. — CNBC
• Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., who is running for embattled Sen. Bob Menendez’s, D-N.J seat., has raised a whopping $2.75 million for his Senate bid so far, after pulling in $1.75 million in the fourth quarter of last year.
• House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. withdrew her endorsement of a top House recruit in Ohio, Craig Reidel, after a recording surfaced of him calling Donald Trump “arrogant.” Riedel’s top primary opponent, J.R. Majewski, lost the seat by a wide margin in 2022 after an AP investigation found he falsely claimed to have served in Afghanistan.
• In an odd “West Wing” reunion, actor Bradley Whitford posted a statement on Martin Sheen’s behalf shooting down rumors that he endorsed Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential run. Sheen is a Biden supporter.

Courts

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is suing the National Labor Relations Board.

National Security

• A U.S. drone strike in Baghdad killed an Iran-allied militia commander who the Pentagon said was “actively involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel.”
• The Islamic State claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s bombings at the memorial service for the late Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani that killed close to 100 people.

Blindspot

Stories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets, according to data from our partners at Ground News.

What the Left isn’t reading: A Jewish teen was harassed at a mall for wearing an Israel Defense Forces jacket.

What the Right isn’t reading: A former Proud Boys member who went on the run after his conviction in a case related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Principals Team

Editors: Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann, Morgan Chalfant

Editor-at-Large: Steve Clemons

Reporters: Kadia Goba, Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

Ruben Gallego is a Democratic congressman from Arizona. He is currently running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.

• The Messenger’s board considered shutting the publication down, after learning the startup news organization is on track to run out of cash soon.
• Defense tech is having a moment in Silicon Valley.
• Nikki Haley’s next challenge: managing expectations.