Just out from the U.S. Treasury and Secretary Yellen …
“After reviewing recent federal tax receipts, our best estimate is that we will be unable to continue to satisfy all of the government’s obligations by early June, and potentially as early as June 1 …”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Monday, warning that debt ceiling armageddon may be only a month away.
Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D) sued the state of Montana and the speaker of the Montana House on Monday after Republican lawmakers voted to censure and block her from speaking.
We’re now bearing down on crunch time in the debt-ceiling hostage-taking drama of 2023. Virtually all of the establishment press is playing to form and treating the situation as a more or less ordinary matter of legislative jockeying and negotiation. That’s a problem but not a surprise. We’ll discuss that in another post. But this morning I want to talk about something different, the story that most commentators aren’t grasping about where this situation is headed. It’s a set of assumptions that is leading most of D.C. — and, it would appear, most of Wall Street — to miss what’s coming.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sparked outrage after he responded to a Friday mass shooting by highlighting the immigration status of the five victims – and getting it wrong, too.
The Supreme Court opened a new front in its war against the administrative state Monday when it took up a case that asks it to consider overruling a doctrine that has long helped form the basis of executive branch agencies’ authority.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Monday morning that Democrats will use this week to launch a counteroffensive after House Republicans passed their debt ceiling bill last week.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) said on Sunday that President Joe Biden “doesn’t have to negotiate” over the debt ceiling because “Republicans in the House, led by Kevin McCarthy, have passed the solution.”
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Things Went And Got Weird
The cross examination of E. Jean Carroll in her rape and defamation case against Donald Trump is set to resume this morning in federal court in New York City. But a couple of odd developments over the weekend:
First, there is some sort of sealed matter that the judge is overseeing related to the case. The first inkling came when the trial was delayed for a bit Thursday morning while the lawyers met with the judge. Then over the weekend, Carroll’s lawyer filed a letter on the record with the court that referenced Thursday’s “brief proceeding under seal concerning an issue that had arisen during trial.” It’s not clear what is going on exactly. MSNBC’s Lisa Rubin does a good job laying out in this thread what we do and do not know (teaser: She doesn’t think it’s a run-the-mill evidentiary issue):
And now, Carroll’s lawyers have confirmed in a letter to the court that whatever they were discussing, it is ongoing & deserving of remaining under seal. 3/ pic.twitter.com/gPL2Bi9ywl
Then early this morning Trump’s lawyers asked the judge to declare a mistrial over the judge’s own conduct during the trial. You don’t see this every day:
The best part of all this, however, is the complaint by the Trump team that the judge understood a literary reference that they themselves did not:
To follow the Carroll trial in real time, this is your guy: @KlasfeldReports.
The Latest On Jack Smith
NYT: Prosecutors in Jan. 6 Case Step up Inquiry Into Trump Fund-Raising
Here’s the key bit (emphasis mine):
But the Justice Department, with its ability to bring criminal charges, has been able to prompt more extensive cooperation from a number of witnesses. And prosecutors have developed more information than the House committee did, having targeted communications between Trump campaign aides and other Republican officials to determine if a barrage of fund-raising solicitations sent out after the election were knowingly misleading, according to the three people familiar with the matter.
WaPo: A second firm hired by Trump campaign found no evidence of election fraud
Here’s the key bit (emphasis mine):
Former president Trump’s campaign quietly commissioned a second firm to study election fraud claims in the weeks after the 2020 election, and the founder of the firm was recently questioned by the Justice Department about his work disproving the claims.
No Verdict Yet
The jury in the Proud Boys seditious conspiracy case continues to deliberate.
WTF
Gov. Greg Abbott (R) responded to a mass shooting over the weekend in southeast Texas by highlighting the immigration status of the victims (and getting that wrong, too):
I’ve announced a $50K reward for info on the criminal who killed 5 illegal immigrants Friday. Also directed #OperationLoneStar to be on the lookout.
I continue working with state & local officials to ensure all available resources are deployed to respond. pic.twitter.com/SpkUgKqKGe
A bill to eliminate tenure in the UNC and community college systems is on the move in the North Carolina General Assembly.
ICYMI
This isn’t a story about gerrymandering. It’s about the right wing seizing hold of the courts to undermine the rule of law. And it’s on full display in North Carolina right now, where the new right-wing majority on the state’s highest court is undoing its own precedent from last year.
Good Read
Jason Zengerle, who has a book coming out on Tucker Carlson, assesses last week’s firing of the top Fox New host.
Supreme Court Scandal Watch
NYT: How Antonin Scalia Law School cultivated ties to justices with generous pay and unusual perks to gain prestige, donations and influence.
Chris Geidner: April’s SCOTUS scandal-fest showed us just how out-of-touch the conservative justices are
Hmmm …
Immediate past White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain making sure DOJ hears him loud and clear:
.@RonaldKlain: "I think at a time when a lot of Americans, including me, would like the Justice Department to get more aggressive in court defending voting rights, defending reproductive rights — that more cautious, measured approach seems just not aggressive enough." pic.twitter.com/ohI6xd6ljb
— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) April 30, 2023
First Republic Goes Down
First Republic Bank was seized overnight in the second largest bank failure in U.S. history, with its remnants sold to JP Morgan.
Welp …
The WSJ obtained a trove of documents that includes the schedules of Jeffrey Epstein, showing him associating with a wider circle of influential and prominent people than previously known.
Dark Brandon
US President Joe Biden speaks during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC, April 29, 2023. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
The President went full Dark Brandon to end his WHCA speech:
lmao Biden leaves the podium by putting on shades and making a Dark Brandon reference. amazing pic.twitter.com/bwNixDupTi
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