President Trump on Monday accepted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's invitation to deliver the State of the Union on Feb. 5, after weeks of partisan clashes over when and whether he can make the speech in the House chamber.
The big picture: The speech was originally set for Jan. 29 before Pelosi forced Trump to postpone due to the partial government shutdown.
The Trump administration has announced sanctions on Venezuela's state-owned oil company, PDVSA, in an attempt to undercut Nicolás Maduro's regime and boost his rival for power, National Assembly President Juan Guaidó.
Why it matters: The Trump administration is using all economic and diplomatic levers at its disposal in a push for regime change in Venezuela. The White House is hoping that if it deprives Maduro of cash, the Venezuelan military will have no reason to stay loyal to him. A source briefed told me: "The implications are huge because it will be difficult for Maduro to find another refiner of Venezuelan oil with any speed to keep cash flowing."
Former New York City Mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg is out with a statement on the viability of an independent candidacy, which Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is openly mulling.
What he's saying: "The data was very clear and very consistent. Given the strong pull of partisanship and the realities of the electoral college system, there is no way an independent can win. That is truer today than ever before."
Dan and Axios' Mike Allen discuss former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who is seriously considering a 2020 presidential run as an independent. Can he, should he and will he?
"Howard Schultz doesn’t have the 'guts' to run for President! Watched him on @60Minutes last night and I agree with him that he is not the 'smartest person.' Besides, America already has that! I only hope that Starbucks is still paying me their rent in Trump Tower!"
The big picture: Schultz outlined his reasoning for considering jumping into the race in an interview with Axios' Mike Allen, saying, "I'll gauge the level of interest in what I've come to believe over the last year — that a choice between Donald Trump and a far-left-leaning progressive Democrat provides a wide and large opportunity."
According to the White House's projections, the government shutdown that ended Friday had already eroded the positive impact of tax reform and spending increases signed by Trump in 2017.
What they're saying: "Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Kevin Hassett recently said the shutdown reduces quarterly annualized economic growth by 0.13 percentage points for every week that it lasts. After more than four weeks, that’s the equivalent of a 0.6 percent reduction in the annualized growth rate," the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget notes.
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz tells Axios he's "unfazed" by the online trashing from Democrats who think that by running for president as an independent, he could split the anti-Trump vote and re-elect the president.
What he's saying: "I'm putting myself in a position that I know is going to create hate, anger, disenfranchisement from friends, from Democrats," Schultz said after last night's "60 Minutes" segment unveiling his plan to explore an independent bid.
On Wednesday night, top Goldman Sachs executives gathered business and political leaders for their big client dinner at the Central Sporthotel in Davos, Switzerland.
What happened: Gary Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs president and former top White House economic adviser, addressed the group, telling them that globalization had caused "a lot of tension in the world." According to two sources in the room, Cohn turned to the United Kingdom's Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and made a tongue-in-cheek offer.
President Trump has set a Feb. 15 deadline for a deal to get his wall money, and he's signaled he'll declare a national emergency or use other executive powers if he can't get the money through Congress.
The big picture: White House officials I've spoken to claim that House Democrats have privately signaled they're willing to fund a border barrier. (They won't say who.) But even these same White House officials aren't trying to spin that the "conference" to negotiate border security will yield a breakthrough. As the NYT's Jonathan Martin put it: "This is not, to put it mildly, a build-the-wall crew."
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz told CBS' "60 Minutes" on Sunday that he is "seriously thinking" about a "centrist independent" 2020 bid for the White House.
The state of play: His musings have triggered concernsamongDemocrats who fear that Schultz, who claims to be a lifelong Democrat, would cost them crucial swing voters and hand President Trump a second term. Schultz brushed off those concerns in the "60 Minutes" interview, saying, "I want to see the American people win. I want to see America win. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat, independent, libertarian, Republican. Bring me your ideas."
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told me that as recently as a couple of weeks ago Trump mused to him about the possibility of using military force in Venezuela, where the U.S. government is currently pushing for regime change using diplomatic and economic pressures.
What happened: Graham, recalling his conversation with Trump, said: "He [Trump] said, 'What do you think about using military force?' and I said, 'Well, you need to go slow on that, that could be problematic.' And he said, 'Well, I'm surprised, you want to invade everybody.'"
On Friday morning, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney convened a small group of aides in his office to discuss their options to end the government shutdown. There weren't many. The previous day, Trump had been embarrassed on the Republican-controlled Senate floor, where Chuck Schumer's bill to open the government got more votes than his.
The state of play: One idea discussed there, which hasn't previously been reported, was to reopen the government with a three-week continuing resolution and if negotiations broke down during the three weeks, a one-year government funding extension would kick in. Trump didn't like the idea, according to a source with direct knowledge.
