The Arizona 2020 election “audit” report is expected to be made public on Sept. 24, the Arizona Republic reports.
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Schwarzenegger Relieved That Newsom Beat Recall
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) said he was relieved that Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) kept his job, although he “declined to say how he voted in the special election,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Said Schwarzenegger: “It’s better to stay with someone who you know what they’re going to do, rather than someone who comes in wacky and is changing everything around.”
House Schedules Vote on Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
“House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) on Friday affirmed the chamber will vote on the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill on Sept. 27, signaling Democratic leaders are still plowing full speed ahead on their planned timeline even though the larger $3.5 trillion bill to invest in social safety net programs still faces tough hurdles,” The Hill reports.
GOP Candidate In Michigan Fudges Campaign Bio
The campaign biography of Trump-endored Michigan Secretary of State candidate Kristina Karamo (R) says she “serves as a professor” and “teaches” at a community college, but a college spokesperson told CNN that she hasn’t worked there since 2018.
Today In The Cloakroom
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White House Warns States If Debt Limit Not Raised
“The White House is warning states that a default caused by failing to raise the federal debt limit could result in drastic cutbacks to disaster relief, Medicaid, school funding and other programs,” CNN reports.
“The memo comes as Democratic leaders are seriously considering adding a debt limit increase to the stopgap funding bill. A final decision on whether to make that move must come by Monday, when the House Rules Committee is slated to take up the short-term continuing resolution, or CR, to keep the government open past September 30.”
“If Democrats add the debt limit hike to the CR, it will set up a showdown vote days before the shutdown deadline, since Senate Republicans are vowing to block it.”
Top U.S. General Defends Calls to China
Gen. Mark Milley said that calls he made to his Chinese counterpart in the final stormy months of Donald Trump’s presidency were “perfectly within the duties and responsibilities” of his job, the AP reports.
“Milley has been at the center of a firestorm amid reports he made two calls to Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army to assure him that the United States was not going to suddenly go to war with or attack China.”
Clarence Thomas Warns Justices Should Not Play Politics
“Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Thursday criticized some in the judiciary for veering into the role of legislators and politicians, saying it’s not for judges to make policy or to base decisions on their personal feelings or religious beliefs,” CBS News reports.
Said Thomas: “The court was thought to be the least dangerous branch, and we may have become the most dangerous. And I think that’s problematic.”
Elise Stefanik Embraces White Nationalist Meme
“Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the No. 3 House Republican, is pushing the notion in Facebooks ads that President Biden and fellow Democrats are seeking a ‘permanent election insurrection’ by expanding pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants,” the Washington Post reports.
“The ad depicts Biden with people who appear to be migrants reflected in the sunglasses he is wearing.”
“The language in the ads echoes that of far-right commentators, including Fox News’s Tucker Carlson, who have advanced a ‘replacement theory’ that says liberals are seeking to replace White citizens with non-White immigrants who are inclined to support the Democratic Party.”
A Few Thoughts for the End of the Week
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Majority Support Biden’s Vaccine Mandate
A new Economist/YouGov poll finds that 52% of American adults approve of vaccine mandates announced by President Biden on September 9th, whereas 40% disapprove.
Blinken Deletes Tweet Backing People of Hong Kong
Secretary of State Antony Blinken deleted a tweet that said the United States would “stand with the people of Hong Kong”, a post in which he accused Beijing of weakening the city’s long-term political stability, the South China Morning Post reports.
He later posted a “more muted sentiment.”
Boris Johnson Won’t Call Early Election
Boris Johnson will “go long” and wait until 2024 before holding an election amid concerns that moving earlier will repeat the mistake of Theresa May, the Times of London reports.
Germany’s Conservatives Face Possible Election Rout
“This is Germany’s first general election without Angela Merkel running for chancellor since 2002. For her conservative bloc, it is shaping up as a debacle,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“A gaffe-prone new candidate, the popular chancellor’s almost complete absence from the campaign, and voter fatigue after 16 years of conservative rule could converge to deliver the bloc’s worst national electoral result ever, according to pollsters and analysts.”
“Less than two weeks before election day, opinion polls show Ms. Merkel’s group, an alliance of conservative parties known collectively as the Union, with 20% of the vote, down 15 points since January and some five points behind its center-left Social Democratic rival.”
Biden Leans Into Expansive Agenda
“Six months after signing a massive economic stimulus package into law, President Biden on Thursday embarked on a fresh push for trillions of dollars in additional spending, attempting to pivot from an emergency posture to advancing a long-term liberal vision of government,” the Washington Post reports.
Nearly Half Say It Was Wrong to Arrest Capitol Rioters
A new Annenberg survey finds that 49% of Americans said it was accurate to say that arresting those who entered the U.S. Capitol on January 6 to disrupt the certification of the presidential election violated the Constitution because they were exercising their constitutional right to petition the government for redress of grievances.
Georgia Criminal Case Against Trump Moves Ahead
“As Donald Trump returns to Georgia later this month, criminal investigators in the state have been quietly conducting interviews, collecting documents and working to build a line of communication with congressional investigators as they aim to build a case against the former President for his alleged attempts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results,” CNN reports.
Bolsonaro Will Defy Vaccination Requirement
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he will address the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week, despite not having been vaccinated, the BBC reports.
“The New York mayor’s office said all those attending will have to show proof of vaccination to enter the debate hall because it is classified as a convention center.”
