Trump Defends Capitol Rioters
“Former President Trump defended some of his supporters who rioted at the U.S. Capitol, saying Thursday that they posed ‘zero threat’ to the lawmakers who had assembled to confirm President Biden’s victory in the November election,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Trump also complained that law enforcement was now “persecuting” the Capitol rioters, hundreds of whom have been arrested, while “nothing happens” to left-wing protesters.
Said Trump: “Some of them went in and they’re — they’re hugging and kissing the police and the guards. You know, they had great relationships. A lot of the people were waved in, and then they walked in and they walked out.”
Dominion Voting Systems Sues Fox News for $1.6 Billion
“Dominion Voting Systems on Friday filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, arguing the cable news giant falsely claimed in an effort to boost faltering ratings that the voting company had rigged the 2020 election,” the AP reports.
GOP Warns Corporate America Over Iowa Race
“Senate Republicans are warning companies that cut off donations to the GOP after the U.S. Capitol attack that their standing on the Hill may suffer if they don’t now speak out about Democrats’ efforts to overturn a Republican House victory in Iowa,” Axios reports.
Said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR): “If the businesses who condemned Republicans in January don’t condemn Democrats for doing the same, everyone will question whether these companies are truly committed to free elections.”
Biden’s Eye-On-The-Prize Strategy
“President Biden revealed in vivid display this week the thinking animating his 100-day plan: Do not allow outside events to take his eye off the make-or-break imperatives of virus eradication and economic growth,” Axios reports.
Said Biden: “Successful presidents — better than me — have been successful, in large part, because they know how to time what they’re doing — order it, decide and prioritize what needs to be done.”
Playbook: “Over and over in the East Room, the president made it clear Thursday that he’s in control of the timing of his legislative priorities and that he would not allow events to overtake his plans. Guns, immigration, voting rights, filibuster reform — the big issues that have intervened recently and that dominated questioning by reporters — would have to wait.”
Gary Abernathy: “The most impressive revelation on Thursday from President Biden’s first news conference was that he has a plan and he intends to stick with it.”
House Launches Broad Review of Capitol Attack
Politico: “In letters to 16 agencies across the Executive Branch and Congress, the panels asked for all communications sent between agency officials regarding Congress’ Jan. 6 session, when lawmakers certified Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. The requests demand all relevant documents and messages from Dec. 1, 2020, to Jan. 20, 2021.”
“The unusually broad committee review comes as Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been unable to secure bipartisan cooperation to launch an independent commission to review the federal government’s handling of the attack, which left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.”
Ex-Trump Officials Move to Shape Pandemic Narrative
Politico: “A small group of top Trump health officials recently held a series of discussions to coordinate their accounts of the administration’s troubled Covid-19 response, worried they will be scapegoated by old colleagues – including their onetime boss, former health secretary Alex Azar.”
“Much of the group – which includes former FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, former CDC Director Robert Redfield, former Medicare chief Seema Verma and former White House Covid coordinator Deborah Birx – had fraught relationships with Azar, whose own accounts of the administration’s pandemic efforts have often diverged from theirs.”
Roosevelt. Johnson. Biden?
Charlie Cook: “Anyone who referred to Biden a year ago as a ‘centrist’ probably got carried away. One could have plausibly argued that he has long been in the ideological center of the Democratic Party, but he’s pretty far from the 50-yard line of the electorate as a whole. Still, his ideological posture of late has been surprising.”
“It shouldn’t surprise us any longer. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the parliamentary maneuvering over the stimulus wasn’t merely a tactical decision to skip the bipartisan approach; it was more strategic, more foundational…”
“Some wags used to joke that Biden was the type of politician who could put out the fire in a fireside chat. But truly, Biden’s agenda is more reminiscent of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal or Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society than the more modest and forgettable Fair Deal of Harry Truman, Bill Clinton’s New Covenant, or Jimmy Carter’s New Spirit. As our nation’s 47th vice president once said about another expansion of federal authority, ‘this is a big fucking deal.'”
For members: Two Paths Into the History Books
‘Sharp as a Tack’
Politico: “Biden’s fitness for office, a longtime fixation among conservatives, is dominating conversations on the right as Trump openly sows doubts about the health of the man who defeated him. One Republican senator recently texted an acquaintance his private suspicions that Biden, the oldest president in history, is mentally unwell.”
“In on-the-record interviews, however, seven GOP senators who’ve met with Biden lately described him as cogent and well-versed on the issues they discussed. And none echoed the warnings many pro-Trump Republicans have issued about Biden amid the chatter about his stair-stepping acumen.”
Said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV): “In the two meetings I was in with the president, he was as sharp as a tack.”
Georgia Lawmaker Arrested as Kemp Signed Bill
A Democratic Georgia state lawmaker was arrested by state troopers and charged after she knocked on Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R) door multiple times as he signed a controversial voting bill into law.
New York Times: Why the Georgia GOP’s voting rollbacks will hit Black people hard.
Arkansas Governor Signs Transgender Sports Ban
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) “signed a law banning transgender women and girls from competing in school sports teams consistent with their gender identity, making the state the second to approve such a restriction so far this year,” the AP reports.
“The Republican governor approved the measure despite objections from medical and child-welfare groups that it would have devastating impacts on transgender youth.”
Tennessee Bill Would Ban Textbooks with LGBTQ Content
A bill proposed by Republican Tennessee state lawmakers would ban textbooks and teaching materials that contain LGBT content, The Hill reports.
The Presidential Press Conference Is as Awful as Ever
Susan Glasser: “Sometimes the big moments in our politics meet the very low expectations we have for them. Joe Biden’s first Presidential press conference, on Thursday, was one of them. By the end of it, after an hour and two minutes that felt much longer, Biden had answered some two dozen questions. The majority of them were repetitive variants on one of two subjects: immigration and the Senate filibuster.”
“Biden had no actual news to offer on either subject. In case you missed it, he is really, totally, absolutely committed to fixing the terrible situation at the border, and also not yet ready—because he does not have the votes—to commit to blowing up the filibuster. There was not a single question, meanwhile, about the ongoing pandemic that for the past year has convulsed life as we know it and continues to claim an average of a thousand lives a day. How is this even possible during a once-in-a-century public-health crisis, the combating of which was the central theme of Biden’s campaign and remains the central promise of his Presidency? It’s hard not to see it as anything other than an epic and utterly avoidable press fail.”
Missouri GOP Blocks Voter-Approved Medicaid Expansion
“Republican lawmakers blocked Medicaid expansion funding from reaching the Missouri House floor on Wednesday, posing a setback for the voter-approved plan to increase eligibility for the state health care program,” the Kansas City Star reports.
“The House Budget Committee voted along party lines not to pass a bill allowing Missouri to spend $130 million of state funds and $1.6 billion in federal money to pay for the program’s expansion. Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government picks up 90% of the tab on expanding Medicaid.”
Republicans Are Committing Political Malpractice
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The Virginia GOP’s Unconventional Convention
First Read: “In addition to 37 satellite locations, Virginia Republicans are using ranked-choice voting to select their nominee.”
“On top of that, Virginia Republicans become delegates — and thus voters at the convention — by applying with the local party. And while the number of potential delegates isn’t capped (like you’d see at an ordinary nominating convention), their voting power is weighted by county/locality population and past GOP performance.”
“Multiple voting sites. Ranked-choice voting. An unlimited number of delegates. Weighting by locality.”
“It’s unlike any convention we’ve ever covered.”
GOP Senator Threatens Biden If He Takes His Gun
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) warned President Joe Biden on Twitter not “to come and take it” with a picture of a statue of himself holding a shotgun.
Georgia Lawmakers Pass Sweeping Voting Restrictions
“Georgia lawmakers approved a sweeping voting measure Thursday that proponents said is necessary to shore up confidence in the state’s elections but that critics countered will lead to longer lines, partisan control of elections and more difficult procedures for voters trying to cast their ballots by mail,” the Washington Post reports.
“The measure is one of the first major voting bills to pass as dozens of state legislatures consider restrictions to how ballots are cast and counted in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, when former president Donald Trump questioned the integrity of election results in six states he lost, including Georgia.”
The Atlanta Journal Constitution says Gov. Brian Kemp (R) will sign the bill tonight.
