Feb. 14, 2023: Plan B talks on debt limit go underground

“Pence to fight special counsel subpoena on Trump's 2020 election denial,” by Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein: Former VP Mike Pence “is set to argue that his former role as president of the Senate — therefore a member of the legislative branch — shields him from certain Justice Department demands. And the biggest subplot of the slowest-moving story In Washington — the partisan standoff over the federal debt ceiling — 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. The speculation has gone far enough to prompt several explainers about how it all might work — whether through a discharge petition or other obscure House procedures that could allow a bipartisan coalition to skirt conservatives’ spending-cut demands. Plus, it’s 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. Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletter Raghu Manavalan is the host and senior editor of POLITICO's Playbook Daily Briefing.Jenny Ament is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.