A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Good Luck, Bud
The Daily Beast reports that Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), who’s running to replace outgoing Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), will unveil a resolution today seeking to “expunge” the House’s second impeachment of Trump for inciting the Capitol insurrection.
- After all, “the Democrats’ weaponization of impeachment against President Trump cannot go unanswered in the history books,” Mullin declared in an email to his GOP colleagues that was obtained by the Daily Beast.
- Mullin’s reported resolution also mentions “the legitimate concerns held by protesters” in context of Trump’s 2020 election lies that led to the Capitol attack, language that sounds mighty familiar.
Catching Up On Last Night’s Primaries
Here’s a quick recap of yesterday’s key primaries in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Idaho:
- Pennsylvania gubernatorial GOP race: Far-right state senator and MAGA Big Lie acolyte Doug Mastriano (R) emerged victorious, an outcome Pennsylvania Republicans really didn’t want.
- Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s (R-NC) race: Cawthorn lost his reelection bid, an outcome North Carolina (and D.C.) Republicans really did want.
- Pennsylvania Senate Democratic race: Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) beat Rep. Connor Lamb (D-PA) and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyetta (D) in a landslide, as visualized in this brutal map by the New York Times:
- Idaho gubernatorial GOP race: Incumbent Gov. Brad Little (R) fended off a challenge from white nationalist-adjacent Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin (R).
- Trump’s endorsement wasn’t a lifesaver for everyone, as Cawthorn and McGeachin found out the hard way (on the other hand, Mastriano did win his race).
Pennsylvania Senate GOP Race Too Close To Call
As of Wednesday morning, Trump-backed reality TV star Dr. Mehmet Oz and ex-hedge fund CEO David McCormick are still neck-and-neck in the Republican primary for Pennsylvania Senate.
Elon Musk’s Trying To Weasel His Way Out Of Twitter Deal
It looks like Tesla CEO Elon Musk is out of “goblin mode” and is now in “oops I made a $44 billion deal to buy a gigantic social media company that I don’t actually want to buy when I was in goblin mode” mode: The billionaire declared on Tuesday that his deal with Twitter “cannot move forward” until the social media giant can prove that less than five percent of Twitter accounts are spam bots.
- That’s a hilariously fake pretense: Musk has griped about Twitter having too many spam bots and claimed one of his reasons for buying Twitter was “defeating the spam bots” (of which there are far too many), and now he’s whining that he doesn’t want to buy Twitter because it has too many spam bots.
Bloomberg Opinion columnist Matt Levine explains Musk’s Kabuki theater better than I can.
DOJ Asks House Jan. 6 Panel For Transcripts
The Justice Department has requested the House Jan. 6 committee send transcripts of its interviews with witnesses, including people in Trump’s inner circle, according to the New York Times.
- The assistant attorney general for the criminal division and the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia reportedly said in their letter to the committee that the transcripts “may contain information relevant to a criminal investigation we are conducting.”
Biden Rips White Supremacy During Buffalo Visit
During his visit to Buffalo, New York in wake of the deadly shooting, the President gave a fiery speech decrying the “poison” of white supremacy that allegedly inspired the suspected shooter to open fire in the grocery store in a Black neighborhood.
Finland And Sweden Apply To Join NATO
Breaking decades of their well-established neutrality policies, Finland and Sweden officially submitted their applications to join NATO on Wednesday, a historic move that Russian leader Vladimir Putin can take full credit for with his unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
Vermont GOP Guv Running For Reelection In Ghost Town Race
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) announced on Tuesday that he’s seeking a fourth term (Vermont governors serve two-year terms). Nobody else has actually filed the paperwork to join the gubernatorial race, per the Bennington Banner, and the only other person who’s announced a bid so far is a Democratic activist named Brenda Siegel.
Trump Gets Gentle
Usually Trump’s fundraising emails try to berate the recipient into giving him cash, warn the recipient they only have a limited amount of time to give him cash that he’ll match by 600x and demand to know why the recipient hasn’t given him cash yet.
Rarely are they ever this tender:
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