Washington Post: “In private discussions, some House Democrats have raised the prospect of whether Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan — two of Biden’s most trusted aides — should lose their jobs.”
Both men appeared on the Sunday shows and Playbook says “it wasn’t pretty.”
Playbook: We know that Donald Trump and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) spoke once on the day of the Capitol riot, but the Ohio Republican has said he doesn’t remember when their conversation took place. We have some new details that could help clear up that timeframe — including confirmation of at least one more phone conversation between Jordan and the then-president during the siege.”
“After a group of lawmakers were evacuated from the House chamber to a safe room on Jan. 6, Jordan was joined by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for a call during which they implored Trump to tell his supporters to stand down, per a source with knowledge of that call. The source declined to say how Trump responded to this request.”
“Jordan has previously disclosed that he spoke to Trump on Jan. 6, but not the existence of more than one call on the day — a rare piece of new information on the former president’s moves during the riot at a time when House Republicans are loath to discuss such specifics.”
Perry Bacon: “The Biden team should govern competently — and also fight on more polarized issues … instead of trying to dodge them. Biden can’t unilaterally end the partisan ‘uncivil war,’ no matter how hard he tries, because the Republicans are so deeply committed to it. Biden’s strategy implies there are ‘culture war’ issues to avoid and ‘pocketbook’ issues to focus on.”
“In reality, Republicans push almost every issue, from vaccinations to unemployment benefits to voting rights, into the broader, zero-sum fight between the parties. So conservative activists and politicians are opposing mask-wearing in schools just as fervently as they oppose the teaching of critical race theory.”
FWIW: “On Facebook, posts about Biden impeachment or removal have received 11.25 million interactions (reactions, comments, shares) since August 15th. By comparison, in that same time period, posts mentioning ‘infrastructure’ received around 5.2 million interactions.”
Bloomberg: “For the head of a hospital facing yet another wave of Covid, a vaccine mandate might seem like the only way to keep staff and patients safe. The reality is more complicated, though. Right now nearly 1 in 8 nurses are neither vaccinated nor planning to get a shot.”
“And in some parts of the country, hospital administrators say only about half of their nursing staff are vaccinated.”
“That’s the dilemma. Do you lose more nurses by mandating vaccines and having some quit, or by not requiring shots and facing staff shortages from quarantines and absences when they get sick?”
Axios: “Web traffic, social engagement and TV ratings for conservative outlets are booming in response to the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan.”
”Conservative news sites had been declining for months following the Capitol siege.”
“Hurricane Ida explosively intensified overnight into a high-end Category 4 storm, and is bringing ‘catastrophic effects’ to Louisiana as it gears up to be one of the strongest hurricanes to make landfall in the state’s recorded history,” Axios reports.
“Maximum sustained winds were measured by aircraft to be 150 mph, just shy of Category 5 intensity.”
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) told CNN that Ida “will be one of the strongest hurricanes that hit anywhere in Louisiana since at least the 1850s,”
“Ever since the Pirate movement burst on to Europe’s political scene as a rebellious force 15 years ago, its anti-establishment parties have remained on the fringes of mainstream politics,” the Financial Times reports.
“But when Czech voters head to the polls for a parliamentary election in early October, there is a chance that the party will win enough votes to become the EU’s first Pirates to enter national government.”
Hospitals in the Southeast are running low on oxygen, with the worst-hit left only 12 to 24 hours worth, Bloomberg reports.
“The U.S. military carried out a strike on a vehicle in Kabul on Sunday in response to an ‘imminent’ threat to the Afghan capital’s airport by the Islamic State militant group,” the Washington Post reports.
“The U.S. military official said there were ‘significant secondary explosions’ following the Sunday strike, indicating the presence of a ‘substantial amount of explosive material.’”
“Covid-19 hospitalizations nationwide crossed above 100,000 this week for the second time in the pandemic, overwhelming caregiver capacity in several states,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Keeping ahead of demand is harder now than during earlier surges, according to doctors, nurses and hospital executives. Patients with other illnesses returned to hospitals this year, leaving fewer open beds as Covid-19 cases soared. The demand is most acute in ICUs, which care for the most-critical patients and need highly trained medical staff. Hospitals are short-staffed and unable to recruit enough nurses and respiratory therapists, who are exhausted as the pandemic wears on.”
Washington Post: “Republicans have been laying a foundation for a midterm argument rooted in casting Biden as a weak leader who has lost control of a swirl of crises, from the surge in migrants at the southern border to a rise in violent crime and now the situation in Afghanistan.”
Washington Post: “President Biden is planning to withdraw the U.S. ambassador and all diplomatic staff in Afghanistan by Tuesday, and it is unclear when — or if — they might return to the country.”
“Despite the Taliban’s expressed interest in having the United States maintain a diplomatic mission in Kabul, the Biden administration has not made a final decision about what a future presence might look like.”
Marc Bernier, a talk radio host in Daytona Beach for 30 years, died after a three-week battle with COVID-19, the Dayton Beach News-Journal reports.
The Wrap notes Bernier had expressed anti-vaccine sentiment less than a week before his hospitalization.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) told attendees at a Republican Party fundraiser that Mississippians “are a little less scared” of COVID-19 than other Americans because most share Christian beliefs, the Mississippi Free Press reports.
Said Reeves: “When you believe in eternal life—when you believe that living on this earth is but a blip on the screen, then you don’t have to be so scared of thing.”
Hours after President Biden warned of a potential attack at the Kabul airport, the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan alerted American citizens in the vicinity of the airport to evacuate because of “a specific, credible threat,” the Washington Post reports.
“President Biden warned Saturday that another terrorist attack at the Kabul airport sometime in the coming days was ‘highly likely,’ and he promised that the U.S. retaliatory strike for Thursday’s suicide attack would not be the last,” the New York Times reports.
“The warning was yet another sign of the chaotic and dangerous situation as the U.S. tried to pull the last remaining Americans and Afghans out of a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan before the Tuesday deadline.”
A Texas judge has issued a temporary injunction order against Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and his ban on mask mandates, the Austin American Statesman reports.
According to the judge, Abbott’s ban was unlawful and exceeded his authority of the Texas Constitution.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.