Washington
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Essential U.S. political news & intel to start your day.
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April 19, 2023
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How 2024’s Vulnerable Red-State Democrats Look At Home
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) is beginning the 2024 cycle with a huge popularity advantage among voters in his state, while Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) remains among the country’s most unpopular politicians. It marks a big political advantage for the Montanan, but fraught territory for Manchin in the face of an expected challenge by his state’s popular Republican governor, Jim Justice, according to the our latest quarterly approval ratings. Read more from me on what’s happening in the two states, and who ranks as America’s most popular senators and governors: Red-State Voters Give Democrats Tester, Manchin Opposite Marks Ahead of 2024.
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Today’s Top News
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The House Judiciary Committee is set to take up immigration legislation today amid internal disputes among GOP lawmakers about their approach to border security. As many as a dozen Republicans are said to be ready to vote against the bill on the House floor if it includes language proposed by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) limiting migrants’ legal rights to asylum. Lawmakers have also expressed concerns about how it handles e-verification for workers. (The Washington Post)
- Senate Republicans blocked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) attempt to temporarily replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on the Judiciary Committee, imperiling Democrats efforts to confirm President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees and issue subpoenas as they probe allegations of financial conflicts of interest against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. (The Washington Post)
- Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million to resolve a defamation case brought against it by Dominion Voting Systems over the conservative network’s elevation of false claims about the company’s role in the 2020 presidential election. It marks one of the largest ever defamation case settlements, and came with an admission by Fox News that “certain claims” it made about Dominion were not true. (The New York Times)
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was welcomed by lawmakers on Capitol Hill as he prepares a likely GOP presidential bid, but few of the members of Congress who hosted his congressional meet-and-greet said they were endorsing him. One lawmaker, Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas), even announced his endorsement of former President Donald Trump as he walked out of the DeSantis meeting. (Politico)
Happening today (all in ET):
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| A MESSAGE FROM THE COALITION FOR AFFORDABLE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS |
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What Else You Need To Know
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White House & Administration
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White House pushes Biden agenda with surprising embrace of tax season
Nikki Carvajal, CNN
The fraught politics of tax season have been met by the White House with a perhaps surprising response: a welcoming embrace.
The Bidens made $579K last year, and paid a 23.8 percent tax rate, their returns show
Christopher Cadelago and Jennifer Haberkorn, Politico
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden paid $137,658 in federal income taxes on $579,514 in earnings, according to their 2022 tax return provided Tuesday by the White House.
Becerra violated Hatch Act by advocating for senator’s election, report finds
John Wagner, The Washington Post
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra violated a law that restricts political activities of federal employees when he advocated for the election of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute event in the fall, the Office of Special Counsel has determined.
US warns Russia not to touch American nuclear technology at Ukrainian nuclear plant
Natasha Bertrand and Tim Lister, CNN
The US has sensitive nuclear technology at a nuclear power plant inside Ukraine and is warning Russia not to touch it, according to a letter the US Department of Energy sent to Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy firm Rosatom last month.
U.S. charges four Americans with aiding Kremlin efforts
Devlin Barrett, The Washington Post
Charges are the latest Justice Department effort against secret foreign propaganda networks on U.S. soil.
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House fails to override Biden’s veto of resolution to overturn EPA water rule
Clare Foran et al., CNN
The House of Representatives on Tuesday failed to override President Joe Biden’s veto of a resolution to overturn an Environmental Protection Agency water rule.
Key Senate Democrats remain non-committal on Biden’s labor secretary pick ahead of confirmation hearing
Maegan Vazquez et al., CNN
President Joe Biden’s pick to be the next labor secretary, Julie Su, has yet to secure the support of key Democrats ahead of her nomination hearing on Thursday, suggesting she faces an uphill battle to confirmation by the Senate.
McCarthy muscles toward vote on debt plan that ‘doesn’t even exist’
Sarah Ferris et al., Politico
The speaker has little intra-GOP margin for error as he seeks unity on his opening offer to the White House. And yellow lights are starting to flash.
Lawyers for Manhattan DA and House Republicans meet Wednesday on intimidation claims
Kara Scannell, CNN
Lawyers for House Republicans and the Manhattan district attorney’s office are set to square off before a federal judge Wednesday over a subpoena seeking testimony about the indictment of former President Donald Trump.
Mitch McConnell Refuses To Discuss Trump Indictment
Igor Bobic, HuffPost
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declined to address the indictment of Donald Trump upon his return to the upper chamber this week, continuing his pattern of avoiding topics involving the former president.
Credit Suisse Failed to Probe Nazi Past, Senate Committee Says
Margot Patrick and Natalie Andrews, Politico
An investigation unearthed details of relationships with some high-ranking Nazis that the bank hadn’t disclosed previously.
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Abortion Foes Urge Supreme Court to Curb Pill on Eve of Deadline
Greg Stohr, Bloomberg
Abortion opponents urged the US Supreme Court to allow new restrictions on a widely used pill to end pregnancy, presenting the justices with a stark choice on one of the country’s most divisive issues.
Kansas City man charged in Ralph Yarl shooting surrenders, booked into Clay County jail
Bill Lukitsch and Robert A. Cronkleton, The Kansas City Star
The 84-year-old man charged with two felonies in the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl surrendered Tuesday afternoon and was booked into Clay County jail, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said.
Suspect in Pentagon leaks case to appear in court for hearing on whether he is kept in jail until trial
Jeremy Herb and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN
The Air National Guardsman accused of posting a trove of classified documents to social media will be back in court Wednesday for a hearing on whether he will be kept in jail.
Single Dose of Omicron-Targeting Vaccines to Become Main Covid-19 Shot in U.S.
Liz Essley Whyte and Stephanie Armour, The Wall Street Journal
The FDA also authorized a second Omicron-targeting booster shot for high-risk groups.
Atlanta Prosecutor Seeks Removal of Lawyer in Trump Case
Danny Hakim and Richard Fausset, The New York Times
The lawyer represents 10 Georgia Republicans who were part of a plan to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election and keep Donald J. Trump in power.
Joe Tacopina is pretty sure he can get Trump out of this
Kara Voght, The Washington Post
He’s a flashy New York lawyer with a track record of getting famous clients out of tough jams. Now he wants to do the same for Donald Trump.
Complaints about Justice Thomas’s disclosures sent to judicial committee
Ann E. Marimow and Robert Barnes, The Washington Post
Allegations from congressional Democrats that Justice Clarence Thomas likely violated federal ethics laws in his dealings with a Republican donor have been sent to a committee of federal judges responsible for “addressing allegations of errors or omissions in the filing of financial disclosure reports,” a top judicial official said Tuesday.
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The Larry Ellison Election
Theodore Schleifer, Puck News
Silicon Valley’s $100 billion man wants Tim Scott, the affable and inspirational South Carolina senator, to be the next president. If only it were that easy.
Chris Christie mulling 2024 White House bid
Jake Tapper and Kit Maher, CNN
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is talking to potential donors, thought leaders, staffers, and others to discuss a possible campaign for president in 2024, sources close to Christie told CNN.
Booked: Liz Cheney in deal to stop Trump’s reelection
Paul Bedard, The Washington Examiner
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the anti-Trump Republican face of the recent House investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, has landed a book deal timed to stop the former president’s apparent march to the GOP presidential nomination.
GOP drops $1M on Manchin as Justice preps run
Burgess Everett and Holly Otterbein, Politico
Republicans are seeking to tie the West Virginia Democrat to his party’s marquee tax, health care and climate law, betting it will drag down his prospects in the deep-red state.
How a GOP mega-donor is trying to buy the Kentucky governorship
Zach Montellaro, Politico
Former Trump official Kelly Craft hopes to nudge in front of the former president’s endorsee in the race.
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DeSantis Made Florida Richer, Now He’s Making It Redder
Anna Jean Kaiser and Marvin G Perez, Bloomberg
The potential presidential contender has remodeled his state as a conservative citadel, even as Republicans grow fearful of alienating moderate voters.
DeSantis’ war on Disney splinters GOP
Zachary Basu, Axios
Former President Trump today accused Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of flying too close to the sun with his war on Disney, setting up a key test of whether the GOP base is more beholden to personality or policy.
Democratic governors lose their grip as Republicans nab supermajorities
Liz Crampton, Politico
A steady number of GOP wins and party-flipping have created a particularly challenging environment for Democratic governors in Kentucky, Kansas, Louisiana and North Carolina.
Republican states could be hit hardest by McCarthy’s proposed spending cuts
Andy Sullivan, Reuters
The spending-cut proposals unveiled by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday could fall hardest on people in Republican-leaning state.
Okla. governor calls on officials to resign after ‘horrid’ audio emerges
Jonathan Edwards, The Washington Post
Officials in McCurtain County allegedly lamented they could no longer lynch Black people and spoke of assassinating a journalist, a local newspaper reported.
Rowan Wilson Is Confirmed as New York’s Chief Judge
Luis Ferré-Sadurní, The New York Times
Judge Wilson, a prominent liberal jurist, will be the first Black judge to lead the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court.
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A Message from the Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs:
Big drug companies keep raising their prices and continue to charge Americans more for their prescriptions than they charge in foreign countries. Pharmacy benefits protect small businesses from Big Pharma’s out-of-control prices and save each consumer $1,040 every year. It’s no surprise that Big Pharma is pressuring Congress to prevent pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from negotiating savings. Congress should focus on the real cause of high drug prices – Big Pharma’s anti-competitive pricing practices. Learn more.
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Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
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Which senators still undecided about 2024 runs will matter most?
Nathan L. Gonzales, Roll Call
A batch of reelection announcements over the past few weeks helped bring the battle for the Senate into focus. But there are still a few senators who haven’t revealed their decision to seek another term, including Democrat Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, whose decision will have the most significant impact on the battle for Senate control.
Is a 6-Week Abortion Ban a Disaster for DeSantis? Two Theories.
Nate Cohn, The New York Times
There were plenty of midterm elections where Republicans didn’t seem to pay a price over new abortion restrictions.
Why Is Democracy Under Such Stress Now?
Thomas B. Edsall, The New York Times
Are democracies providing the rope to hang themselves? From Turkey to Hungary, from India to the United States, authoritarian leaders have gained power under the protective cloak of free elections.
Fox News Lost the Lawsuit but Won the War
David A. Graham, The Atlantic
The network will pay $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems as the price of retaining its audience.
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Research Reports and Polling
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