MIDTERM MADNESS: 63 percent of millennials disapprove of Trump’s job, per poll
From a new poll from NBC News/GenForward: “Nearly two-thirds of millennials (63 percent) think things in this country are off on the wrong track. Only 18 percent think the country is generally headed in the right direction, and another 18 percent aren't sure.”
More from the poll: “Sixty-three percent of millennials also disapprove of the way President Donald Trump is handling his job, with nearly half (46 percent) saying they strongly disapprove. Only 2 in 10 (19 percent) approve of Trump.”
From Mike Memoli at the Koch summit in California: “Americans for Prosperity, the chief political arm of the network of public advocacy organizations founded by industrialists Charles and David Koch, this weekend reiterated the pledge it made last summer to spend upwards of $400 million to help boost likeminded candidates and incumbents in the midterm elections.”
Mike Pence is headlining a high-dollar 2018 fundraising dinner tonight — at the Trump hotel.
2020: From POLITICO, on how the influx of 2020 hopefuls could be awkward in a lot of parts of the country: “At least eight states have multiple Democrats considering national bids, an unprecedented development that threatens to fracture the party in some of the bluest states in the nation.”
AZ-SEN: Some GOP officials in the state are working on a draft resolution that would push Joe Arpaio out of the race.
CA-49: Another Democrat – an Air Force vet — is in the race for Issa’s seat.
FL: Marco Rubio has fired his chief of staff after learning of allegations that he “violated office policies regarding proper relations between a supervisor and their subordinates.”
IN-SEN: Joe Biden will raise money for Joe Donnelly.
MN-GOV: Attorney General Lori Swanson won’t run for governor — she’ll run for reelection instead (Keith Ellison had been rumored to be considering a run as well.)
NJ-SEN: Bob Menendez has a primary challenger: attorney and presidential campaign veteran Michael Starr Hopkins.
TX-SEN: Beto O’Rourke outraised Ted Cruz in the last quarter of 2017.
TRUMP AGENDA: Previewing tomorrow's State of the Union
NBC’s Kristen Welker: “This morning, President Trump is preparing to strike a note of bipartisanship – and optimism – in his address tomorrow night. A senior administration official says the president will tout gains in the economy, while also calling on Congress to pass a trillion-dollar infrastructure package and immigration reform.”
“Republican lawmakers warned President Trump on Sunday not to fire Robert S. Mueller III, but showed little sense of urgency to advance long-stalled legislation to protect the special counsel despite a report that Mr. Trump had tried to remove him last June,” writes the New York Times.
The Washington Post: “Republican lawmakers in a half-dozen states are launching fresh efforts to expand Medicaid, the nation’s health insurance program for the poor, as party holdouts who had blocked the expansion say they’re now open to it because of Trump administration guidelines allowing states to impose new requirements that program recipients work to get benefits.”
The latest on immigration talks, in the Washington Post: “Lawmakers in both parties said Sunday that the immigration debate should focus narrowly on efforts to legalize young immigrants known as “dreamers” and beef up border security, suggesting that President Trump’s demands to slash legal immigration levels are likely to sink a deal.”
ICYMI, from over the weekend: Steve Wynn has resigned as RNC finance chair.
Hillary Clinton made a cameo in an anti-Trump parody video at the Grammys.
Dante Chinni notes that a record number of Americans want government to do more, not less.
And don’t miss this deep dive in The Atlantic about Paul Manafort’s pursuit of foreign cash.