“Officials serving at U.S. diplomatic missions in Geneva and Paris are suspected to have been afflicted with the mysterious neurological ailment known as Havana Syndrome and at least one was evacuated back to the U.S. for treatment,“ the Wall Street Journal reports.
Lindsey Graham Issues Warning to McConnell
Sen. Lindsey Graham told Fox News that he wouldn’t back Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) return as Republican leader in the Senate if McConnell didn’t make nice with Trump.
Said Graham: “If you want to be a Republican leader in the House or the Senate, you have to have a working relationship with President Donald Trump.”
He added: “He’s the most consequential Republican since Ronald Reagan. It’s his nomination if he wants it, and I think he’ll get reelected in 2024.”
Politico: Trump taunts don’t shake McConnell’s hold on Senate GOP.
Democrats Have Just Months to Deal with Inflation
Washington Post: “Studies show that attitudes about the perceived direction of the economy tend to harden in May or June of an election year. And with negative news tending to linger in its impact compared with positive news, Democrats view the next few months as crucial.”
Why the Left Couldn’t Destroy Rahm Emanuel
John Harris: “After Rahm Emanuel limped to the end of two controversy-pocked terms as Chicago mayor in 2019, many people assumed he would be consigned at last to irrelevance. Some critics, especially on the Democratic left, thought a sullen fadeaway was too good for Emanuel — he deserved some place a bit hotter to spend his political afterlife.
“Less than three years later, Emanuel isn’t going to oblivion. And he isn’t going to hell, or at least not yet. He’s going to Tokyo. Emanuel leaves on Saturday to begin his term as President Joe Biden’s newly confirmed U.S. Ambassador to Japan. What gives?”
Biden to Meet with Senate Democrats
Playbook: “After his very aggressive speech in Georgia, it will be worth watching how hard Biden pushes in the closer confines of the Democratic conference. There is incentive for him not to go too hard at Manchin and Sinema.”
“The president has only so much political capital to go around. He still wants to pass some version of his BBB plan, but so far, Manchin has refused to return to the negotiating table because of digs at him from White House staff. Biden can’t afford to alienate him further.”
McCarthy Refuses to Cooperate with Select Committee
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said that he will not cooperate with the select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, asserting the panel “is not conducting a legitimate investigation,” the New York Times reports.
Omicron Looms Over Congress
New York Times: “Just when it seemed as if the atmosphere on Capitol Hill could not get worse, Omicron came to town. At least 129 House members and senators have announced a coronavirus infection since the outset of the pandemic, nearly a quarter of the lawmakers in Congress. A baker’s dozen announced infections in the last week alone. A mask mandate that has been only fitfully respected by Republicans in the House was turned up a notch to require only N95s and KN95s — and compliance is just as spotty.”
“Social distancing is back; when the body of Harry Reid, the former Senate majority leader, lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday, chairs were arranged several feet apart. The grand atrium of the Capitol Visitor Center, once filled with tourists, has been reconfigured with stanchions to demarcate the Covid testing line for lawmakers and staff members.”
“Schadenfreude is in full tilt.”
Durbin Says Biden Went ‘Too Far’ In Voting Rights Speech
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said Wednesday that President Biden may have gone “a little too far” with his rhetoric during a speech in Georgia the previous day advocating voting rights legislation, The Hill reports.
The Hill: Psaki pushes back on criticism of Biden’s voting rights speech.
Schumer Will Try Loophole to Bypass Filibuster
“Democratic leaders have found a mechanism to enable them to bypass an initial Republican filibuster and debate the party’s sweeping elections reform bills,” Axios reports.
“The strategy is the latest example of how Democrats are seeking new ways to try to bypass Senate procedures that are blocking their agenda. But the ultimate outcome will likely be the same: insufficient support to change the 60-vote threshold needed to pass sweeping voting rights reforms.”
“This wonky process is similar to the strategy Congress used last month to quickly take up and eventually pass a debt limit increase and avoid a default.”
Kayleigh McEnany Met with January 6 Committee
Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday appeared before the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, CNN reports.
GOP Lawmaker Compares Vaccine Mandate to Holocaust
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) “compared Covid vaccine mandates to the Holocaust, a statement that was met with swift backlash from Jewish groups,” NBC News reports.
Davidson’s tweet: “Let’s recall that the Nazis dehumanized Jewish people before segregating them, segregated them before imprisoning them, imprisoned them before enslaving them, and enslaved them before massacring them.”
Housing Costs Swell
“Housing costs jumped last month, as higher prices continued to constrain aspiring home buyers and push up the demand for apartment and home leases,” the New York Times reports.
“The relentless increase in housing costs, which typically move slowly and remain high once they rise, could continue to put pressure on the Federal Reserve because it could prolong price gains.”
Select Committee Wants to Hear from Kevin McCarthy
The House Select Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection invited Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to appear before the panel, Politico reports.
New York Times: “The letter to Mr. McCarthy is the committee’s latest attempt to learn more about Mr. Trump’s actions as mob rioters stormed the building for hours on Jan. 6 and his mind-set in the days that followed. It made Mr. McCarthy, a California Republican, the highest-ranking lawmaker the panel has pursued in its inquiry.”
“In particular, the panel said it was interested in a phone call that Mr. McCarthy had with Mr. Trump during the riot.”
Ohio Justices Strike Down New Maps
“The Ohio Supreme Court struck down GOP-drawn state House and Senate maps as unconstitutional gerrymandering in a 4-3 decision Wednesday, sending the Ohio Redistricting Commission back to the drawing board,” the Columbus Dispatch reports.
“Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor was the key vote, breaking with her party to rule against the maps.”
GOP Lawmaker Adheres to Term Limit Pledge
Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN) announced that he will not run for reelection this year to uphold a past pledge to serve no more than four terms in the House, The Hill reports.
Newspaper Asks Rob Portman to Reconsider
The Cleveland Plain Dealer ran an editorial urging Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) to run for reelection despite his retirement announcement last year.
“Otherwise, the ugliness that is the Republican primary for your seat will continue its cavalcade of intemperate, cruel, ill-judged, narrow-minded and explosive rhetoric designed to divide not unite.”
“Otherwise, the majority of candidates from your party will continue to spew their lies about the 2020 election, lies that don’t just bust apart hopes to rebuild any consensus in America, but also that continue to shred the very heart and soul of the traditional conservative Republican Party values you have served so ably over your long career of public service.”
Biden’s Approval Falls Further
A new Quinnipiac poll finds President Biden with a dismal approval rating, 33% to 53%.
Biden’s approval rating in the last seven Quinnipiac polls: 49%, 46%, 42%, 38%, 37%, 36%, 33%.
White House to Launch Site to Order Covid Tests
A senior White House adviser told PBS Newshour that a federal website to order Covid-19 rapid tests “should be online by this weekend.”
Tests should start to arrive by the end of the month.
