2024 WATCH THE SHADOW PRIMARY — “Trump remains silent on DeSantis' six-week abortion ban,” by NBC’s Natasha Korecki and Jonathan Allen: “On Monday, a Trump adviser said the six-week abortion ban has been a topic of internal discussion ever since it became clear the law was about to be enacted. Aides, however, say they don’t want to get ahead of Trump on the subject, with a spokesman saying, ‘He will address it if he is asked about it.’” DeSANTIS VS. DISNEY — “DeSantis leans on GOP-controlled Legislature to thwart Disney,” by Gary Fineout in Tallahassee, Fla.: “DeSantis, a likely presidential contender for 2024, on Monday announced that the GOP-controlled Legislature will attempt to change state law to subject the company theme parks to new inspections of its rides and famed monorail in the final three weeks of its annual session.” The politics: “Pence Criticizes DeSantis for Escalating Disney Battle Ahead of 2024,” by Bloomberg’s Mark Niquette MORE POLITICS GROWING PAINS — “Republicans worry the Club for Growth could cost them the Senate,” by Ally Mutnick: “The Club is positioning itself against the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the three states that are most key to retaking the majority: West Virginia, Montana and Ohio. … The fear is that, at best, the group is creating unnecessarily messy primaries. At worst it is blowing another shot at retaking the majority.” SHOT — “George Santos launches 2024 reelection bid,” by Kelly Garrity CHASER — NBC’s @sahilkapur: Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY “asked if he will support George Santos for re-election, laughs and says: ‘We’ll wait and see who else files.’” LEADER OF THE PAC — “Pediatrician launches new PAC focused on children,” by Roll Call’s Daniela Altimari: “The group, ‘Their Future, Our Vote,’ will advocate for measures that address climate change, gun violence, childhood poverty and voting rights, among other issues.” THE WHITE HOUSE DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — “Divided Biden administration nears agreement on key China trade rules,” by Gavin Bade: “The developments come at a particularly delicate moment for the administration, which has been trying to smooth tensions and maintain trade ties with Beijing as both economies teeter on the brink of recession.” THE SHUFFLE BOARD — “Joint Chiefs shuffle: Biden’s top contenders to replace Trump’s military leaders,” by Lara Seligman and Connor O’Brien: “As many as five members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the eight most senior uniformed leaders who advise the president on military issues, are scheduled to leave their assignments this year. Besides the Joint Chiefs chair, the heads of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and potentially the Air Force are all set to leave. Three of the military’s top operational commanders are changing over as well.” CONGRESS DEMS’ DIFI DILEMMA — As previewed in yesterday’s Playbook, Senate Republicans balked en masse at the suggestions that Feinstein could be temporarily replaced on the Judiciary Committee as she continues her recovery from shingles. Among those objecting are GOP Sens. SUSAN COLLINS (Maine), BILL CASSIDY (La.), JOHN CORNYN (Texas), THOM TILLIS (N.C.) and JONI ERNST (Iowa). Schumer said he was planning to bring a resolution to the floor this week — but the math makes for a steep hurdle that Dems would have to clear and a virtual standstill for confirming judicial nominees. More from Burgess Everett and Katherine Tully-McManus INSIDE THE NEW GOP — “House GOP puts on united front as conflict brews behind the scenes,” by WaPo’s Marianna Sotomayor and Leigh Ann Caldwell: At a McCarthy-hosted “boot camp” on fiscal issues in February, “some Republicans toyed with the idea of blocking an increase in the debt ceiling to get what they wanted to balance a budget — equating defaulting on the national debt as a similar tactic to shutting down the government, which is something most Republicans, including McCarthy, don’t want.” BACK IN ACTION — Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL is back in the Capitol after recovering from a concussion, AP’s Mary Clare Jalonick writes: “In brief remarks on the Senate floor as the chamber came back into session after a two-week recess, McConnell criticized President Joe Biden for not doing enough to negotiate on the nation’s debt ceiling and thanked his colleagues for their well-wishes. … ‘Suffice it to say, this wasn’t the first time that being hard-headed has served me very well.’” PROBE PREP — “Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey to set up legal defense fund amid criminal probe,” by NBC’s Jonathan Dienst, Ken Dilanian and Zoë Richards ORIGIN STORY — “Covid Emerged as Chinese Lab Faced Biosafety Issues, Senate Republican Study Finds,” by WSJ’s Warren Strobel and Michael Gordon TRUMP CARDS KNOWING JOE TACOPINA —“Joe Tacopina is pretty sure he can get Trump out of this,” by WaPo’s Kara Voght: “[W]hy would Tacopina represent Trump? He has two criteria for taking on a case: ‘If I think someone’s been really wronged, and I really fall in love with a person,’ Tacopina says. To him, the former president meets both.” JUST POSTED — “Trump team prepares to fight efforts to block him from ballots over Jan. 6,” by WaPo’s Michael Scherer: “Two nonprofit groups who do not disclose all their donors, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and Free Speech for People, have prepared multipronged legal strategies to challenge Trump across the country under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.” JUDICIARY SQUARE THE LOAN LURCH — “Biden DOJ wins transfer of lawsuit challenging student loan rule away from conservative Texas court,” by Michael Stratford SCOTUS WATCH — “Supreme Court to deliver answer in religious mailman’s case,” by AP’s Jessica Gresko JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH YIKES — “‘Stop the Steal’ Organizer Apologizes After Being Accused of Asking Teen Boys for D*ck Pics,” by the Daily Beast’s Will Sommer: “The budding online scandal has also roiled the pro-Trump and white supremacist ‘America First’ movement, just months after it reached new levels of notoriety after its leader, NICK FUENTES, dined with Donald Trump and rapper KANYE WEST at Mar-a-Lago. Now Fuentes is facing backlash from his own supporters over whether he ignored warnings that [ALI] ALEXANDER, his friend and ally, was allegedly soliciting nude pictures from young men within Fuentes’s movement.” POLICY CORNER MAJOR INVESTIGATION — NYT’s Hannah Dreier is up with a detailed look into the continued warning signs across the federal government that migrant children were at risk and working illegally — alarms that were either “ignored or missed,” the Times writes in its investigation. “Again and again, veteran government staffers and outside contractors told the Health and Human Services Department, including in reports that reached Secretary XAVIER BECERRA, that children appeared to be at risk,” Dreier writes. The response: “In interviews with The Times, officials expressed concern for migrant children but shifted blame for failing to protect them. … ROBYN M. PATTERSON, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement that the administration was now increasing scrutiny of employers and reviewing its vetting of sponsors. … But the White House declined to comment on why the administration did not previously react to repeated signs that migrant children were being widely exploited.” ABORTION FALLOUT — “Abortion pill manufacturer to pay $765K to U.S. to settle suit over incorrect labeling,” by Jennifer Haberkorn and Josh Gerstein PLANTING A FLAG — “Senior Democrat Urges Executive Actions From Biden on Immigration,” by NYT’s Eileen Sullivan: “Senator BOB MENENDEZ, [D-N.J.] one of the loudest and most powerful Democratic critics of the Biden administration’s immigration policies, said this week that he had delivered a list of recommended executive actions to the White House to address illegal migration at the southern border in a more humane way.” AMERICA AND THE WORLD LEAK LATEST — “Egypt nearly supplied rockets to Russia, agreed to arm Ukraine instead, leak shows,” by WaPo’s Missy Ryan, Evan Hill and Siobhán O'Grady: “Taken together, the documents provide new insight into the Biden administration’s quiet but high-stakes diplomacy with countries that have sought to stay on the margins of Washington’s intensifying standoff with Moscow.” — “U.S. eavesdropped on U.N. secretary general, leaks reveal,” by WaPo’s Tim Starks and Karen DeYoung: “The documents … shed new light on [U.N. Secretary General ANTÓNIO] GUTERRES’ interactions with top U.N. officials and world leaders, including detailing what they describe as his ‘outrage’ over being denied a visit to a war-torn region in Ethiopia and frustrations toward Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY.” The investigation: “U.S. officials have examined whether alleged doc leaker had foreign links,” by Erin Banco and Lara Seligman The crackdown: “Pentagon Culls Classified Document Distribution List After Intelligence Leak,” by Bloomberg’s Roxana Tiron and Jenny Leonard Inside the Discord: “Member of chatroom where leaked Pentagon documents surfaced tells CNN alleged leaker didn’t want users to be ‘shocked by news cycles,’” by CNN’s Sean Lyngaas and Gianluca Mezzofiore Behind Donbass Devushka: “FBI Investigating Ex-Navy Noncommissioned Officer Linked to Pro-Russia Social-Media Account,” by WSJ’s Sadie Gurman, Gordon Lubold and Bob Mackin EVAN GERSHKOVICH LATEST — “Russian court to hear jailed US reporter’s appeal,” per AP BEYOND THE BELTWAY GUNS IN AMERICA — “Biden calls 16-year-old shot in Kansas City,” by Kelly Garrity: “Biden on Monday called RALPH YARL, a Black 16-year-old who was shot in Kansas City, Mo., after ringing the wrong doorbell, the White House confirmed Monday night. Yarl was shot twice Thursday night after he approached the wrong house while picking up his siblings, an incident that Prosecuting Attorney ZACHARY THOMPSON described Monday as having ‘a racial component.’ On Monday, ANDREW LESTER, an 84-year-old white man, was charged with first-degree assault.” UVALDE, ONE YEAR LATER — “Two Children, a Burst of Gunfire and the Year That Came After,” by NYT’s Edgar Sandoval in Uvalde, Texas HOW IT HAPPENED — “Texas to New Jersey: Tracking the Toxic Chemicals in the Ohio Train Inferno,” by NYT’s Hiroko Tabuchi: “Tankers of vinyl chloride were going halfway across the country, government records show, a trip highlighting the risks of transporting chemicals as plastics production grows.” MEDIAWATCH HAPPENING TODAY (PROBABLY) — “Fox News-Dominion libel case set to begin after brief delay,” by AP’s David Bauder, Randall Chase and Geoff Mulvihill in Wilmington, Del. Related read: “Fired Fox News producer says she found more evidence relevant to Dominion case,” by NBC’s Jane Timm MUSK READ — “CBC ‘pausing’ Twitter after ‘government-funded media’ label,” by AP’s Rob Gillies
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment