We open with the President working on the State of Union address and he's struggling for the right words to express that if the Republicans continue pushing for entitlement reform (a lower retirement age) they will force a government shutdown. The President's newest buddy -- who is none other than Peter's old squeeze Christina -- somehow has the perfect answer to his linguistic issue and she flits over to help him while Frank draws a cartoon bull on his notebook. Real mature, Frank. He turns to the camera to assert that there are two kinds of VPs: doormats and matadors. Yeah, you betcha that he fancies himself the latter.
After the meeting, Frank pulls Tusk aside because he's got a plan. Tusk, however, is all hung up on China being left out of the speech… um hello, if the government shuts down there will be no talks with anyone about anything! Frank suggests they give the Republicans the retirement age and pull a quick turnaround on the bill; Tusk is naturally skeptical, but Frank says he'll make it happen. The problem is that someone needs to convince the President. Knowing full well that Tusk can't resist being the only bug in Walker's ear, Frank offers to be the lobbyist, but Tusk picks up the mantle. Frank doesn't like it, but right now Tusk just happens to the one the most powerful man in the world listens to. And you can bet he plans on changing that -- after all, the man just played like putty in Frank's hands.
, Frank gets the ball rolling with Senate Majority Leader Hector Mendoza, who agrees to back the plan but notes that the Tea Party leader, a Senator Curtis Haas, is going to be a problem because all he cares about is seeing the Dems suffer. Can I get a buzzer to call out that glaring Ted Cruz reference?
In Lucas-land, the world still feels like a frazzled spinning top. He's chasing down Christina outside of the Capitol and insisting that she wants to know the truth about Peter's death. Without thinking, he implicates Frank and Christina -- who's got a pretty cushy seat to the President and is free of her junkie ex-lover -- says she's done with dealing with her past. She threatens to out him to the VP himself and send the Secret Service after him, so Lucas will have to run around acting like a crazy person without her help. He's basically got nothing besides a hunch.
After telling the President's Chief of Staff that there are no threats worth mentioning to either the President or Frank, one member of the security committee and Doug Stamper's old buddy -- the FBI's Nathan Green -- tells Doug that he caught a suspicious email about the Vice President sent somewhere from the mystical deep web, which is starting to sound more like magical vortex than an actual thing that exists. Naturally, we know that the email in question is Lucas' idiotic email. Green argues that he can't do anything with the note because it contains no threat to the Vice President's life -- just his super-incriminating private cell phone records -- but little Doug gets in the giant-like Green's face and demands a favor. There's just one problem: Lucas hasn't committed a crime yet. Doug's a simple man, so he just tells Green to entrap him. Doug says he's now Green's buddy in the White House -- Doug loves to throw his newfound weight around, it seems -- which means Green apparently has to do what he says. Though the jolly Green giant is so dumb and makes sure to ask for an overdue promotion in exchange. Thatta boy.