President Trump’s schedule (EST):

11:30 AM:  Daily intelligence briefing;

12:15 PM:  Lunch with Acting Interior Secretary Bernhardt; and

  6:15 PM:  Reception for National African American History Month.

China trade talks reach a critical stage tomorrow.  This morning, Bloomberg noted:

Negotiators in Washington are working on multiple memorandums of understanding that would together form the basis of a final trade deal between the U.S. and China. Liu He, China’s chief negotiator, is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump tomorrow as efforts continue to extend the current March 1 deadline in order to allow more talks. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has warned that markets are too optimistic about a resolution to the dispute, while another front in the trade war might open soon with relations between the EU and the U.S. continuing to sour.

USTR Lighthizer will testify on our trade talks at 10 AM, Wednesday, February 27 before the House Ways and Means Committee per yesterday’s hearing notice.

“Can Washington keep watch over Silicon Valley? The FTC’s Facebook probe is a high-stakes test.”  Yesterday’s Washington Post article led with:

The Federal Trade Commission is under pressure to issue a steep fine and other sharp penalties against Facebook to prove that it’s able to keep Silicon Valley in check, privacy advocates and congressional lawmakers say.

To some critics, the watchdog agency has been too lenient on tech giants, despite years of mishaps that put people’s most sensitive personal information at risk — including a major scandal at Facebook last year that affected more than 87 million users.

Nearly a year after announcing an investigation into the incident, the FTC is negotiating with Facebook over a fine that could be billions of dollars, according to multiple people familiar with the probe who spoke on the condition of anonymity last week because they were not authorized to discuss the issues. Experts say the government has to seize on the opportunity to send a message — to Facebook and its peers — that it hears consumers’ frustrations and is willing to challenge the tech industry’s data-collection practices.