DHS is shut down. You wouldn't know it

IN THIS EDITION

A DHS shutdown with no urgency

Murkowski eyes defense gavel

Palantir is the new Dem bogeyman

Premium+: Policy coverage you can’t miss

THE TOP

A DHS shutdown with no urgency

Happy Monday morning. Happy Presidents Day.

Shutdown update. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security ran out Friday evening. In conversations with lawmakers and aides on both sides of the aisle, there doesn’t seem to be any real rush to end the impasse.

Remember that DHS has more than 260,000 employees across an array of agencies. Somewhere around 90% of DHS employees are classified as essential, including 95% of TSA agents, most of the Coast Guard and Secret Service. These federal employees will work without pay throughout the funding lapse, so it may be some time until the public feels the impacts of the DHS shutdown.

The White House and Senate Democrats have been trading offers on DHS funding over the last week or so. If you ask Trump administration officials, they submitted an offer that was about as far as they can go on changes to ICE operations during President Donald Trump’s harsh immigration crackdown. Senate Democrats have said that the White House isn’t serious about meeting their 10 (or 17) demands.

There are divergent political considerations here. The White House believes that the political situation has improved for Republicans following the uproar over two deadly shootings by federal officers during ICE protests in Minnesota last month. Democrats say the public is overwhelmingly backing them up pushing for ICE reforms.

The House and Senate are on recess, with 48 to 72 hour rules to come back if there is an agreement. But there’s no chance that the shutdown will end before Wednesday or Thursday at the earliest.

Presidential Palooza. This has to be one of the weirdest, most unpleasant Presidents Days ever for several of the current and former holders of the world’s most powerful job.

Trump will start the day in Palm Beach, which likely means some golf before he and First Lady Melania Trump head back to Washington tonight.

Trump is mired in a very public fight with former President Barack Obama after Trump posted a racist video of the 44th president and former First Lady Michelle Obama on Feb. 5. White House officials initially denied it was racist. But even Republicans publicly condemned the video, which means it was extraordinarily, shockingly bad, and the post was later deleted.

Trump, being Trump, said he did nothing wrong by posting the video. “I didn’t make a mistake,” Trump told reporters. Trump also keeps posting on Truth Social about “Barack Hussein Obama” while making noises about Obama’s alleged role in conspiring against him during the 2016 election, which will never be over.

Obama, being Obama, finally responded a week after Trump’s original racist post by denouncing the “clown show” of American politics, although he never uttered the words “Donald Trump” or “racist” or anything like that.

“There’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television, and what is true is that there doesn’t seem to be any shame about this among people who used to feel like you had to have some sort of decorum and a sense of propriety and respect for the office,” Obama said in the most Obama comment ever.

Obama has semi-waded into the battles over greenhouse gases regulation and the SAVE Act, both huge issues. But we’re not sure how the genteel Obama would fare in the Trump era, when every Democrat is required by party rules to drop F-bombs when referring to Trump (We’re kidding. Maybe.)

Meanwhile, former President Bill Clinton faces an unprecedented deposition next week by investigators for the House Oversight Committee over his ties to disgraced financier and accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will also be deposed in the probe, although the ex-senator says she knows nothing about Epstein’s criminal activities.

Both Clintons fought the subpoenas from the Oversight panel for months, but they caved when it became clear that House Republicans were prepared to push through criminal contempt citations against them with bipartisan support. The Clintons seem to have realized — as they had been warned for months — that younger Democrats have no allegiance to them and wanted to keep the Epstein issue viable to use against Trump, even if that meant throwing the 42nd president overboard.

Former President Joe Biden will head to South Carolina next week to celebrate the sixth anniversary of his critical victory in the Palmetto State’s Democratic primary. That win helped Biden overcome a serious challenge from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and launched him on the path to the Oval Office.

While Trump continues to bash Biden as “Crooked Joe Biden” and “the worst President in American History,” some recent polls show Biden was more popular than Trump after one year in office.

Which leads us finally to former President George W. Bush. He has a Substack now. He goes to basketball games (like Obama, but not really.) Otherwise, the 43rd president keeps a very low profile. Just as he likes it.

– Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan

Programming note. We are only publishing AM editions this week. We’ll put out a special edition or text alert if there’s breaking news.

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Join our events list to be in the know about The Conference, ways to follow the conversations and opportunities to join us in-person or virtually at future events.

Murkowski eyes defense gavel

News: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) wants to succeed retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) atop the powerful Defense Appropriations subcommittee.

It would be a seismic shift for Murkowski, who has led Republicans on the Interior-EPA subcommittee on Appropriations dating all the way back to 2011. Energy and natural resources-related issues are also of enormous importance for The Last Frontier.

“Look at my state. We have a pretty significant military presence, rightly so, because of our geography — proudly so,” Murkowski said in an interview last week where she publicly expressed interest in the defense post for the first time. “These are important issues, not only for the entire country, but also immediately for Alaska.”

Murkowski conceded there are many variables that could affect where she ultimately ends up. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) faces a competitive reelection bid. A loss by Collins could offer Murkowski a chance to chair the full committee. Murkowski is third in seniority behind McConnell and Collins.

Taking over the defense panel would come at a consequential time for Murkowski, Alaska and the country. President Donald Trump has called for a massive $1.5 trillion budget for the Pentagon, a total that would represent an effective 50% increase from current levels and has divided Republicans on the Hill. That push for more funding is certain to continue in the next Congress.

Murkowski, a moderate Republican unafraid to break with her party, has used an old-school playbook to consistently rack up power in Washington. Murkowski previously chaired the full Energy and Natural Resources Committee while also relying on her senior Appropriations role to steer hundreds of millions of dollars to Alaska.

So wielding a gavel with potentially $1 trillion-plus at play — or even chairing the full Appropriations Committee — would be an opportunity to dole out even more federal money to Alaska, similar to what the late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) did. Murkowski is up for reelection in 2028 for a seat she’s held since 2002. Murkowski succeeded her father, Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) in the Senate.

Frustration with communication. In her current role atop the Interior-EPA panel, Murkowski said she was frustrated by Trump’s announcement that he’s shutting down the Kennedy Center for two years starting this summer. Murkowski said she found out about the decision in the media.

“All it would have taken is a heads up saying: We’ve done a further review and analysis,” she said. “But they don’t do that.”

Appropriations cardinals, including Murkowski, have expressed surprise at the Kennedy Center closure and raised questions about Trump’s plans to build a 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery.

Does Trump issue a directive and administration officials then must backfill ways to justify it to Congress?

“That’s a lot of what it feels like we’re dealing with,” Murkowski said. “And I don’t know it to be true, but that’s what I’m guessing.”

— Anthony Adragna

DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES

Palantir is the new Dem bogeyman

Palantir, the data giant and top government contractor, is quickly becoming one of the left’s most hated companies. The Palantir skepticism is keenly felt in competitive Democratic primaries, where any ties to the corporation are quickly turned into political attacks.

Palantir’s work with ICE — at a time when many Democrats and immigration rights groups are demanding the agency be abolished — has made the tech company especially toxic. Progressives also criticize Palantir for working with the Israeli government. Palantir technology is allegedly being used in the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.

Here’s how the Palantir controversy is playing out in Democratic primaries across the country.

Texas: Former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) is slamming his primary opponent, Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas), for her history of owning Palantir stock. An Allred attack ad accuses Johnson of “making thousands from the company ICE uses to track and detain our neighbors.”

Johnson has strongly pushed back while downplaying her Palantir holdings.

“With Palintir specifically, it was less than $8,000, and I made $90 on the whole thing,” Johnson said. “I consistently voted against Palantir’s interest in Homeland Security [Committee], time, time and time again.”

New York: Palantir is playing big in two New York City House primaries. In New York’s 12th District, Democrat Alex Bores is battling attacks over his former employment at Palantir from 2014 to 2019. Bores says he never worked on any ICE contracts.

This hasn’t stopped attack ads that claim “ICE is powered by Bores’ tech” and that Bores was “powering their deportations.”

In New York’s 10th District, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) is facing a left-wing challenge from Brad Lander. But Goldman is attacking Lander on the Palantir front, arguing that while Lander was city comptroller, New York pension funds increased their investments in Palantir.

Lander’s team replied that he had a fiduciary responsibility to invest apolitically while comptroller. Lander has vowed to stop Palantir from aiding the White House’s immigration policy if elected to Congress.

Illinois: In Illinois’ Democratic Senate primary, Chicago Sun-Times reporting exposed that Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) had accepted $29,300 in donations from a Palantir executive. In response, Krishnamoorthi donated the total amount he received from the Palantir executive to immigrant rights groups.

In a statement, a Palantir spokesperson said the company will continue to carry out its mission to “strengthen national security, improve public health, support law enforcement and help re-industrialize the American economy — those priorities are bigger than politics.”

— Max Cohen

Premium+: Policy coverage you can’t miss

Every Sunday afternoon, our Premium+ members get exclusive policy reporting from our Defense, Tech and Vault teams.

Here’s a peek at what you’re missing if you don’t subscribe.

Vault: Brendan Pedersen dove into the political dynamics that are making it difficult for Congress to advance housing legislation, even with big, bipartisan proposals in both chambers.

Both the House and Senate bills take a similar approach — they want to make it easier to build more housing. But there are still some raw feelings about the Senate’s attempt to shoehorn its bill into the annual defense policy bill last year. And House members want their provisions that would deregulate certain aspects of community banking included in any final product.

Time is running out and the players involved are stubbornly holding their ground.

Read more here.

Tech. Diego Areas Munhoz and Ben Brody examine how the Artificial Intelligence industry is looking to run crypto’s playbook in the midterm elections: Use a huge campaign war chest to reward its friends and punish its enemies.

But there’s a twist: Major AI players and their PAC are facing a diverse and organized opposition, which crypto never had. Progressives, organized labor and some conservatives are all aligned against the AI industry’s push to keep regulation to a bare minimum.

It’s unclear who has the upper hand, but money, and lots of it, will be spent.

Read more here.

Defense: Anthony Adragna and Briana Reilly bring you a look at how both parties are preparing for a post-Donald Trump foreign policy world, a dynamic that was on display in Munich this weekend.

There is the ‘American First’ crowd, the traditional Republicans, emerging progressive leaders like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and then the Democrats who are most worried about maintaining the pre-Trump status quo with regard to NATO.

It’s unclear which approach will emerge dominant, but one thing is certain: They’ll be dealing with a very different geopolitical situation in the wake of Trump.

Read more here.

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… AND THERE’S MORE

Job news. Chris Syrek is joining OnMessage Public Strategies as an executive vice president.

Syrek has been the chief of staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs since the beginning of the Trump administration. He also led the confirmation process for VA Secretary Doug Collins. Syrek worked at the VA in the first Trump administration as deputy chief of staff.

The Campaign. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) is up with a new spot in Houston in his primary challenge against Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas). Menefee recently won a primary for the late Rep. Sylvester Turner’s (D-Texas) seat. Polls show that Menefee is ahead of Green — a 21-year incumbent — in the newly redrawn district.

The Green spot begins by showing Green interrupting President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address last year. In the ad, Green says that Republicans targeted him in redistricting because he “laid the groundwork” for Trump’s impeachment. The primary is March 3.

Watch the spot here.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is up for re-election and is running an ad touting endorsements from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Trump.

– Jake Sherman

MOMENTS

CLIPS