WaPo: Sotomayor Has Experience With Tough Confirmations
The Washington Post looks back at Sonia Sotomayor’s 1997 confirmation hearings to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which was a contentious process due to rumors that she could later be nominated for the Supreme Court. Sotomayor performed strongly, the Post says, though interestingly enough there was a tense exchange with Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) — now the head Republican on the Judiciary Committee — over an apology she gave to a convicted defendant who was given a mandatory five-year sentence.
Obama’s Day Ahead: Meeting With Mahmoud Abbas, And Hillary Clinton
President Obama will be leaving Los Angeles at 10:35 a.m. ET, and is scheduled to arrive back at the White House at 3:15 p.m. ET. At 4 p.m. ET, he will have a one-on-one meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the Oval Office. They will hold an expanded meeting at 4:45 p.m. ET. At 5:30 p.m. ET, Obama will meet in the Oval Office with Sec. of State Hillary Clinton.
Biden’s Day Ahead: Stimulus, And Meeting With Obama And Abbas
Vice President Biden will hold an Economic Implementation Cabinet Meeting, at 10:45 a.m. ET in the Roosevelt Room. In the afternoon, he will hold conference calls with governors and mayors from across the country, to discuss stimulus implementation. At 4:45 p.m. ET, he will join the expanded meeting of President Obama and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. At 9:30 p.m. ET, he will speak at the Sons of Italy Foundation’s annual National Education & Leadership Awards gala in Washington.
Report: Senate GOP Likely Won’t Fight Sotomayor
The Politico reports that despite any right-wing chatter against Sonia Sotomayor, Senate Republicans will not actually put up much of a fight barring some unforeseen skeletons in her closet. “The sentiment is overwhelming that the Senate should do due diligence but should not make a mountain out of a molehill,” said a top Senate Republican aide. “If there’s no ‘there’ there, we shouldn’t try to create one.”
Pelosi Appeals To China For Help On Climate Change
Speaking at Tsinghua University in Beijing, Speaker Nancy Pelosi appealed to China for cooperation on addressing climate change. “We are all in this together,” Pelosi told students and faculty. “The impact of climate change is a tremendous risk to the security and well-being of our countries.”
Boxer, Franken Set Up Fundraising Committee
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and apparent Sen.-Elect Al Franken (D-MN) have set up a joint fundraising committee, Boxer-Franken 2009, which is set to hold a fundraiser in July. The committee will allow the two politicians to pool their fundraising resources, give donors to an opportunity to both support Boxer’s 2010 re-election campaign and Franken’s ongoing legal battle for the Minnesota Senate seat.
Biden Jokes About Obama And Teleprompters
While giving the commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Vice President Biden ad-libbed a joke after his left teleprompter fell down. “What am I gonna tell the president?” Biden said. “I’m gonna tell him his teleprompter is broken. What will he do then?”
Obama Tells Big Donors: If Not For You, We Wouldn’t Be In The White House
President Obama thanked the donors at a big DNC fundraiser last night in Beverly Hills. “If it weren’t for you,” he told movie producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, “we would not be in the White House.” Fun fact: one of the celebrity attendees was actor Kiefer Sutherland, who is of course the star of the right-wing favorite TV show 24 — and is also the grandson of the late left-wing Canadian politician Tommy Douglas, considered by many to have been the father of universal health care in his country.
