Feb. 14, 2023: Plan B talks on debt limit go underground
\u201cPence to fight special counsel subpoena on Trump's 2020 election denial,\u201d by Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein: Former VP Mike Pence \u201cis set to argue that his former role as president of the Senate \u2014 therefore a member of the legislative branch \u2014 shields him from certain Justice Department demands.\nAnd the biggest subplot of the slowest-moving story In Washington \u2014 the partisan standoff over the federal debt ceiling \u2014 has so far centered on whether, absent a deal between President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, moderate House Republicans might somehow band together with House Democrats to avoid a catastrophic default.\nThe speculation has gone far enough to prompt several explainers about how it all might work \u2014 whether through a discharge petition or other obscure House procedures that could allow a bipartisan coalition to skirt conservatives\u2019 spending-cut demands.\nPlus, it\u2019s consumer price index day in DC, and once again, the economy faces an interesting conundrum. Economics reporter Victoria Guida breaks down what the Fed and the Biden administration are looking for.\xa0\nSubscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletter\nRaghu Manavalan is the host and senior editor of POLITICO's Playbook Daily Briefing.Jenny Ament is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.