As of 6:40 p.m. ET:
~ Senators are currently in a rare, closed-door, all-senators meeting in the Old Senate Chamber to try to hammer out an agreement that gets nominees to the CPRB and NLRB through the Senate and avoids changing the filibuster rules.
~ Sens. Reid and McConnell met a short time ago, before the all-senator meeting. No clear picture on whether they made any headway on a deal.
~ White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough was reportedly in the meeting with Reid and McConnell, but the White House tells TPM that McDonough was not there for the meeting, that the White House is not negotiating with senators, and that this is all in Reid’s hands.
Sahil Kapur has more from the Hill.
Nate Silver says a 50 or 51 seat Republican majority is now the most likely outcome of the 2014 midterm election.
Weiner and Spitzer topping the polls for top New York City races.
Canadian transport minister Steven Fletcher was among those ousted by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in today’s big cabinet shakeup:
I am Conservative. I am a traditionalist. I wish I left Cabinet in the traditional way— with a sex scandal! #cabinetshuffle #cndpoli
— Steven Fletcher (@stevenjfletcher) July 15, 2013
On the merits, I hope the DOJ decides not to get involved in the Zimmerman case. But if it did, pretty much guaranteed we’d have the biggest conspiracy theory and white panic freakout in history.
If you’re having a party out in backyard and everyone’s kinda drunk, probably not the best time to show off your cool new gun. Especially if it’s loaded.
Over the last couple months we’ve seen an increasing desire – centered on the House GOP – to kill immigration reform with a growing belief that Republicans can continue to win elections simply by doubling down on white voters. In other words, the supposed ‘lesson’ of the 2012 election is rapidly being forgotten. Let’s remember, for all the growth in minority population numbers, whites still make up the overwhelming majority of Americans, and especially American voters. And if Republicans can expand their share of the white vote even as the overall white vote declines, perhaps it’s doable? Read More