The Arizona State University Police Department has asked the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to prosecute the immigration activists who filmed themselves confronting Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) at the school over her stonewalling of the sweeping reconciliation package, and following her into a bathroom as they did so several weeks ago.
Continue reading “Police Urge Prosecutors To Go After Sinema Protesters”What’s In/Out?
Kate Riga with the latest state of play on reconciliation.
Oath Keepers In The State House: How A Militia Movement Took Root In The Republican Mainstream
GOP Fundraising Arm Attacks Dems For Not Repealing Part Of Trump’s Tax Law
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.
Hmmm
The National Republican Congressional Committee pulled a fast one, putting out a statement Wednesday targeting four Democratic members of Congress from New Jersey because they have “failed at restoring” the federal deduction for state and local taxes in the reconciliation bill.
Except, uh, it was Trump’s tax law that put a $10,000 cap on the SALT deduction in the first place.
- Reps. Josh Gottheimer, Tom Malinowski, Mikie Sherrill and Andy Kim “can’t accomplish anything for hardworking New Jerseyans,” the NRCC claimed.
- In related news, the changes to the SALT deduction are still on the table, according to House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-MA).
Dan Scavino Hints He Won’t Cooperate With Jan. 6 Panel
Dan Scavino, Trump’s former White House social media chief and deputy chief of staff, isn’t ready to cooperate with the House Jan. 6 committee, according to his lawyer, Stanley Brand.
- Scavino has until next Thursday to turn over documents under the committee’s subpoena, and he has a hearing scheduled for the week after, per CNN.
- Scavino has legal concerns about testifying and questions whether the committee properly served the subpoena, according to Brand. The ex-White House official also claims to be concerned about the issue of executive privilege.
- Brand also complained that the information the committee is seeking from his client is “as broad as the ocean.” The panel members “have to act like a real investigative entity,” the lawyer grumbled to CNN.
The Right-Wing Media Cesspit
Washington Examiner columnist Paul Bedard wrote a whole story falsely claiming that Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate in the Virginia gubernatorial race, has donors in only 14 counties, compared to GOP rival Glenn Youngkin’s 86 counties, based on data from nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project.
- Wow, quite a disparity there! McAuliffe’s campaign is pretty screw-wait, what year is that data from?
Whoops.
Bedard deleted the tweet, and the Examiner had to change the story to just “Youngkin outraises McAuliffe among Virginians” while taking out the data that the entire article was based on.
Then they slapped on this awesome corrections note at the very bottom:
“In an earlier version of this story, it incorrectly included donations from prior years. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.”
Today’s Next Step To Holding Bannon In Contempt
The full House will vote today on the Jan. 6 select committee’s recommendation to hold former White House senior adviser Steve Bannon in contempt for defying the panel’s subpoena and refusing to show up for his hearing last week.
- The recommendation is expected to pass. It’ll then be referred to the Justice Department, which will decide whether to prosecute the case.
What’s In/Out On Reconciliation?
Kate Riga has a quick rundown.
More Than 2 Dozen Elected Officials Tied To Far-Right Militia
At least 28 people who have been elected into office joined or donated to the Oath Keepers, BuzzFeed News found.
Key Analysis
“The case for ‘Havana Syndrome’ skepticism” – The Washington Post
Parkland Shooter Pleads Guilty
23-year-old Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 murders and 17 attempted murders on Wednesday, three years after opening fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. It was the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history.
- Cruz now faces life in prison or a death sentence. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Netflix Employees Stage Walkout Over Dave Chappelle Special
Dozens of Netflix employees left its Los Angeles office and several others virtually called off work on Wednesday afternoon to protest the streaming giant’s handling of its newly released Dave Chapelle special that features transphobic content.
- Team Trans* released a list of demands that aim to “avoid future instances of platforming transphobia and hate speech.” You’ll notice that none of them demand that Netflix actually remove the special, so don’t let “anti-woke” reactionaries convince you that trans people and their allies are trying to censor Chappelle here.
Mommy, I Want Another Investigation
Disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) wants a new investigation into the sexual harassment allegations against him that led to his resignation.
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The Reconciliation Package Finally Takes Shape
Yesterday’s meetings between President Joe Biden and various groups of Democrats at the White House yielded some specifics about which programs will likely be in or out of the final package. The climate piece seems amorphous still — no doubt due to the fossil fuel-loving proclivities of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).
The package Biden outlined dropped in price to the high $1 trillions, a clear sign of Sens. Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema’s (D-AZ) influence. Some cuts, like two years of free community college, will be bitterly disappointing to progressives. Some, like the child tax credit only being extended for a year or two are strategic — paring back on the cost while betting that even Republicans won’t be politically able to thrust millions of children back into poverty when it expires.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) emphasized Wednesday morning that these details from Biden’s meeting are not a “decision” — in other words, things are still in flux.
The White House and congressional leadership want a meaty framework with a topline and all the key programmatic elements agreed to by the end of the month. While this process has been replete with fits and starts, they’ve been making significant progress towards that goal this week and members think it can happen.
Follow our live coverage below:
The Sausage Making: The Reconciliation Juggernaut Rolls Ahead
Congress is back in session, but we’re continuing what began as a recess-time series of evening briefings on the reconciliation negotiations. Check in here to find out how the sausage-making is going.
Continue reading “The Sausage Making: The Reconciliation Juggernaut Rolls Ahead”Where Things Stand: RonJohn Takes DC US Attorney’s Office Hostage Over Jan 6 Prosecutions
It’s a tale as old as time for Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI).
The Republican senator is reportedly using his leverage as a senator to, at least temporarily, block the confirmation of Matt Graves, whom President Biden named as his pick to lead the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C. Since January of this year that office has overseen more than 600 prosecutions related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. So far, more than 100 insurrectionists have pleaded guilty to charges related to the attack.
Continue reading “Where Things Stand: RonJohn Takes DC US Attorney’s Office Hostage Over Jan 6 Prosecutions”To Most Dems, It’s Clear: The Only Path To Voting Rights Runs Through The Filibuster
Senate Republicans blocked a major piece of Democrats’ voting rights legislation, keeping the bill from even advancing to a floor debate despite Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) insistence that it could garner bipartisan support.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
Continue reading “To Most Dems, It’s Clear: The Only Path To Voting Rights Runs Through The Filibuster”Senate Republicans Block Voting Rights Bill As State GOPs Continue Assault On Franchise
Senate Republicans blocked Democrats’ voting rights bill Wednesday, filibustering the legislation to prevent it from even getting a floor debate before the final vote.
Continue reading “Senate Republicans Block Voting Rights Bill As State GOPs Continue Assault On Franchise”The Deal Starts to Come Together
Everything I’ve seen over the 24 hours since I wrote the post below tells me that yesterday was the best day Democrats have had in months. As I said yesterday, the headlines are about things that are being dropped. But the real story is the concreteness and specificity of these reports and the authority of the people sending the message. Those all tell us that the real negotiation is now underway. Kate Riga and I discussed this in the new episode of the podcast which should be out this afternoon.
A few points.
Continue reading “The Deal Starts to Come Together”