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We have some news in our latest POLITICO-Morning Consult poll that we can share with you this morning. The results get to the heart of two big questions about 2022:1. Can Democrats overcome the culture war attacks dragging them down?2. Can Republicans overcome the Trumpian issues dragging them down?Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook.Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Senior Producer of POLITICO Audio.

The first clips of President Joe Biden's sitdown interview with NBC’s Lester Holt were released Thursday night (the full video will air on Sunday’s Super Bowl pregame show).Biden announced that his shortlist of potential nominees to replace Justice Stephen Breyer is down to four. Biden: “I’ve taken about four people and done the deep dive on them — meaning thorough background checks, and to see if there’s anything in the background that would make them not qualified.” Also: “​​I think whomever I pick will get a vote from the Republican side for the following reason: I’m not looking to make an ideological choice here.” And WaPo’s Seung Min Kim has a look at the status of Biden’s SCOTUS selection process. Listen to Playbook Deep Dive: The Gen X activists upending Democratic politicsRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Senior Producer of POLITICO Audio.

It’s been one of the greatest sources of tension between House Republicans and Democrats for a year now: a chamber-wide mandate requiring lawmakers to mask up before they vote — and steep fines if they refuse. But now some House Democrats are following the lead of Democratic governors, calling for an end to mask mandates — even as their party imposes one in the House chamber.Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook.Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Senior Producer of POLITICO Audio.

Across the country, top Democratic officials are relaxing mask mandates as Omicron recedes and concern rises about how masking is affecting schoolchildren. Meanwhile, Republicans have seized on the issue to attack Democrats as mask fundamentalists.The shift among Democrats accelerated Monday, when a bipartisan group of governors meeting with President Joe Biden in Washington told him they wanted a “return to a greater state of normality” and to “move beyond the pandemic.”Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook.Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Senior Producer of POLITICO Audio.

The fallout from the RNC’s weekend censure of Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) spread to Capitol Hill on Monday: Hill Republicans returned to town and lit into Chair Ronna McDaniel. Senate Republicans went on the record to say that looking back to 2020 is a losing strategy that won’t help the party flip both chambers of Congress. And they’re furious that the RNC would dub the activities of Jan. 6 “legitimate political discourse.”And less than 24 hours after our colleague Alex Thompson reported that an internal White House investigation found that top White House science adviser Eric Lander bullied and mistreated his subordinates, Lander resigned.Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook.Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Senior Producer of POLITICO Audio.

The most likely November election scenario is that Republicans win the House and Senate. On average since World War II, the president’s party loses 26 House seats and four Senate seats in a midterm election. The traditional indicators still point toward a typical midterm for Biden: low presidential approval rating (42%), a Republican advantage over Democrats on the generic ballot (44%-42%), and more than twice as many Democrats retiring from the House as Republicans (29-13).But Democrats are beginning to whisper about something that sounds laughable to many observers: Maybe they can win the midterms.Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook.Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Senior Producer of POLITICO Audio.

If you work on Capitol Hill, you’ve probably heard about “Dear White Staffers.” It’s an Instagram account that started as a place where aides of color on the Hill — a place dominated by white lawmakers and staff — could express their frustrations. But it’s expanded beyond that to become a go-to hub where anonymous staffers name and shame bad bosses and colleagues, and complain about absurdly long workdays, gender discrimination allegations, salaries so low they rely on food stamps to eat, generally toxic workplace behavior and an endemic lack of diversity. Playbook Deep Dive: Why Stephanie Cutter says Dems need a new SCOTUS strategyRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Senior Producer of POLITICO Audio.

Republicans have been all over the map lately in their Supreme Court messaging. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) called President Joe Biden's vow to only consider Black women for the vacancy “affirmative action.” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Biden doing so during the campaign was “clumsy” and risked further politicizing perceptions of the high court. And Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) welcomed Biden’s bid to diversify the Supreme Court, saying “it’s about time” it looked more like America.So what gives?Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook.Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Senior Producer of POLITICO Audio.

The center of legislative intrigue on Capitol Hill is bipartisan election reform.“That’s on a hot track right now,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Monday. But as talks heat up to overhaul the Electoral Count Act, President Joe Biden is out in the cold — a bystander out of sync with both parties in Congress.Administration officials are deeply engaged in a gamut of other bills snaking through Congress. Russia sanctions? “We are working very closely with Congress,” press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday. Trying to unstick Build Back Better? “There’s a lot of discussion among members, their staffs, committees” and “we’re engaged in those as well.” Ditto for the government funding bill that must be passed by Feb. 18, and the China competitiveness bill under negotiation. Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook.Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Senior Producer of POLITICO Audio.

Lawmakers return from recess this week to a massive February to-do list before President Joe Biden's March 1 State of the Union address. And the pressure is on: The White House and vulnerable House Democrats are desperate to quickly pass a $250 billion package aimed at boosting manufacturing and relieving supply-side constraints — a win they’d love the president to be able to trumpet at his big speech.But Congress also has to avert a government shutdown and possibly begin vetting a Supreme Court nominee. And that’s to say nothing about trying to resuscitate Build Back Better. Can they do all this in a few weeks?Subscribe to POLITICO Playbook.Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Senior Producer of POLITICO Audio.