The Point: How Nancy Pelosi broke Trump

View this email in your browser January 25, 2019  | by Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski How Nancy Pelosi broke Trump There's no spinning what happened in Washington on Friday: Donald Trump caved to Nancy Pelosi -- and a compromise to reopen the government was struck. The bigger question is how. How, after 3+ years of Trump running roughshod on the political process, did Pelosi, the newly installed speaker of the House, beat him at his own game? The answer is remarkably simple: She said "no." And stuck to it. Pelosi, from the start, insisted that neither she nor any Democrats would cooperate with any negotiation that sought to leverage a government shutdown for Trump to try to secure the $5.7 billion he wanted for a border wall. The key to saying something so definitive is a) sticking to it and b) enforcing it. There was never a peep from any House Democrat that they should make concessions on the wall to Trump. Not any meaningful dissent. For 35 days of a shutdown. In the midst of that, Pelosi out-Trumped Trump on his State of the Union speech, too. She said postpone it. He said "no" and dared her to deny him the chance. She did just that. The Point: What Pelosi seems to understand better than past Trump political opponents is that giving ANY ground is a mistake. You have to not only stand firm, but be willing to go beyond all political norms -- like canceling the SOTU -- to win. Which is what Pelosi did this week. Twice. -- Chris And now, the week in 26 headlines:  Monday: After Buzzfeed article, Trump team reached out to Mueller's office Trump makes unannounced visit to MLK memorial Giuliani tries to clean up comments about Trump Tower Moscow Tuesday: Supreme Court allows transgender military ban to go into effect Sources say Trump's not angry at Giuliani: 'Rudy's not getting fired' White House expresses 'support' for Covington Catholic students State Department cancels border security conference due to shutdown over border security Kudlow says 'no cancellation' of US-China trade meeting DOJ plans to ask Supreme Court to hear census case this term  Wednesday: WH adviser says there could be zero growth if shutdown lingers Trump recognizes opposition leader as Venezuelan president Cohen's House testimony postponed, citing 'threats' Trump says he won't give SOTU during shutdown  White House confirms President Trump sent letter to Kim Jong Un Thursday: Ross doesn't 'quite understand' why furloughed workers are going to homeless shelters to get food Michael Cohen subpoenaed by Senate Intelligence committee Trump seeks 'down payment on the wall' US orders non-emergency personnel out of Venezuela WH preparing draft emergency order, identified $7 billion for wall Friday: Paul Manafort appears in court after 3-month absence Mueller indicts Roger Stone Sanders says Stone indictment has nothing to do with Trump Flight delays pile pressure on Trump amid shutdown Stone vows to fight Mueller charges Trump to temporarily end shutdown -- without wall funding QUOTE OF THE DAY "The longest shutdown in American history will finally end today." -- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking from the Senate floor just after President Trump announced a deal to end the shutdown.  MARK YOUR CALENDAR 🖋 🗓 For February 15... That's the date the government is scheduled to run out of money again under the bipartisan agreement announced this afternoon.  President Donald Trump is already putting pressure on the three weeks between now and then: He is prepared to shut down the government again or to "use the powers afforded" to him as president if no plan emerges during that time to fund his border wall. So far, Democrats aren't showing their hand. Nancy Pelosi today didn't indicate whether negotiating over a wall was off the table, simply telling reporters this afternoon: "I have been very clear on the wall. I have been very clear." CHRIS' GOOD READS The 2020 Democratic primary as "Lord of the Flies" Marc Caputo sees Trump with an edge in Florida going into 2020 The "Bulletproof Coffee" guy thinks he can live forever(ish) The "Royal Rumble" is the best! MUSICAL INTERLUDE Ryan Adams has some STRONG thoughts about the rain in his new tune. THE JUDGE IN COMMON There's one key similarity between the cases against Roger Stone and Paul Manafort: Amy Berman Jackson. Berman Jackson is the DC District Court judge charged with handling both cases.    "Jackson is a former prosecutor and defense attorney," writes CNN's Katelyn Polantz: "Some of her closest colleagues from her private practice days are top DC defense attorneys who are now involved in the Mueller and related cases representing a defendant and witnesses. Since she joined the court in 2011, she sentenced former Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife and has handled several politically charged cases." LAUREN'S 2020 LATEST Kamala Harris: Will hold her first official campaign rally in her quest to become president on Sunday in Oakland, California.  Elizabeth Warren: Has postponed a campaign stop in Las Vegas to stick in Washington for votes related to the government shutdown, according to her campaign.  Beto O'Rourke: Says he still isn't sure about a potential presidential run. But if he decides against it, he says he's thinking about becoming a teacher.  Richard Ojeda: Becomes our first Democratic departure of the 2020 cycle. The former West Virginia state senator announced today he is dropping out because "I don't want to see people send money to a campaign that's probably not going to get off the ground." Julián Castro: Will appear on State of the Union with CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday morning.  ABOUT THIS MORNING... No, it wasn't collusion that got CNN exclusive footage of the raid that led to Roger Stone's arrest this morning. It was gumshoe reporting. CNN's Jeremy Herb recounts how it all came together: "CNN producer David Shortell and photojournalist Gilbert De La Rosa were outside Stone's home Friday morning to witness the FBI approaching Stone's door to arrest him on a seven-count indictment that special counsel Robert Mueller's grand jury approved a day earlier. "They were there staking out Stone because there was just enough evidence lurking in the special counsel's activity over the past week that CNN's team covering the Mueller investigation placed a bet that Stone could be arrested as early as Friday." YOUR DAILY GIF From Brenna: "Roger Stone is a lot peppier than I'd imagine most people would be after being woken up by the FBI in the middle of the night and having QUITE the morning after. Share The Point with someone who hates waking up early." We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media and more. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski. Follow Chris and Lauren on Twitter. Subscribe to The Point unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences  Copyright © 2019 Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A WarnerMedia Company. All Rights Reserved., All rights reserved. You are receiving this message because you subscribed to CNN's The Point with Chris Cillizza newsletter. Our mailing address is: Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A WarnerMedia Company. All Rights Reserved. One CNN Center Atlanta, GA 30303 Add us to your address book Sign up to get updates on your favorite CNN Original Series, special CNN news coverage and other newsletters.​