Political Wire

Republicans Lead Midterm Money Race

February 1, 2022 at 7:38 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Major Republican organizations focused on winning back control of the House and the Senate ended last year with significantly more money than their Democratic counterparts, a reversal of past fortunes that suggests shifting momentum ahead of the midterm elections,” the Washington Post reports.

“The new fundraising totals, revealed Monday in filings to the Federal Election Commission, showed both parties holding record amounts for the off-year of the congressional cycle. But the growth in the Republican cash hoard compared with the 2020 and 2018 cycles outstripped Democratic gains, as GOP donors, particularly those who give seven- and eight-figure checks, leaned into the effort to take back control of the House and the Senate this fall.”

Federal Prisons on Lockdown After Gang Altercation

February 1, 2022 at 7:35 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The federal prison system has been placed on a nationwide lockdown after two inmates were killed and two others were injured Monday during a gang altercation at a federal penitentiary in Texas,” the AP reports.

“The lockdown, being instituted at the agency’s more than 120 federal prisons across the U.S., was prompted by fears of potential retaliation and concern violence could spread to other facilities.”

Many Trump-Backed Candidates Lag In Fundraising

February 1, 2022 at 7:04 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Axios: “Key Trump-backed Republican challengers were heavily outraised by their Republican primary opponents late last year, newly filed financial reports show.”

“The money advantage has the potential to play a decisive role in closely watched House and Senate primary contests this midterm year. And the lack of it can spell trouble for a number of candidates Trump has endorsed out of personal affinity, or simply a hatred of the more moderate Republicans they’re looking to unseat.”

Trump’s Press Secretary Turned Over Texts

February 1, 2022 at 7:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany turned over text messages to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol,” ABC News reports.

Vaccines for Young Children Available This Month

February 1, 2022 at 7:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Coronavirus vaccines for children younger than 5 could be available far sooner than expected — perhaps by the end of February — under a plan that would lead to the potential authorization of a two-shot regimen in the coming weeks,” the Washington Post reports.

Sinema’s Grassroots Donor Pool Dries Up

February 1, 2022 at 6:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Sen. Kyrsten Sinema had her best fundraising quarter since her election, bringing in nearly $1.6 million in the last three months of 2021 as she positioned herself as one of her party’s high-profile contrarians in the Senate,” Politico reports.

“But underneath that record number is a starker reality for the Arizona Democrat. Sinema is increasingly leaning on corporate PACs and big donations to fill her campaign coffers. The Democratic grassroots fundraising world has largely abandoned her.”

U.S. Nears One Million Pandemic Deaths

February 1, 2022 at 6:55 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “Federal authorities estimate that 987,456 more people have died since early 2020 than would have otherwise been expected, based on long-term trends. People killed by coronavirus infections account for the overwhelming majority of cases. Thousands more died from derivative causes, like disruptions in their healthcare and a spike in overdoses.”

“Covid-19 has left the same proportion of the population dead—about 0.3%—as did World War II, and in less time.”

Ted Cruz Waits to Make Another Run for President

February 1, 2022 at 6:47 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “has never really danced around his ambition — including now that his party is in a holding pattern waiting to see whether former President Donald Trump runs again,” NBC News reports.

Said Cruz: “The race in ’24 will very much hinge on whatever President Trump decides to do. President Trump is going to make his decision whether or not he runs, or nobody else is going to make that decision for him. And I expect that everyone else will react accordingly when he does make that decision.”

Said someone close to Cruz: “I don’t think he would run against Trump. I don’t know that Trump’s going to run. But if Trump doesn’t run, I’m quite certain he will run.”

All-Out Effort to Keep Biden Covid Free

February 1, 2022 at 6:38 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Associated Press: “It’s no surprise that unusual steps are taken to protect any president. But the strict precautions could also threaten to undercut the Biden administration’s own efforts to tell Americans — especially those who are vaccinated and boosted — that they can get on with something closer to their normal lives in the face of the omicron wave.”

“And it’s emblematic of the messaging challenges surrounding the administration’s approach to Covid-19 as the virus becomes endemic, familiar and somewhat controlled but still menacing, with hard-to-follow guidelines often unevenly implemented.”

“For months, Biden aides have fretted that the people who are most protected against Covid-19 remain the most cautious, a dynamic they view as a drag on the nation’s economic and psychological recovery.”

New York Times Sues to Get Hunter Biden Emails

February 1, 2022 at 6:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The New York Times filed a lawsuit against the U.S. State Department on Monday in an effort to obtain emails between Hunter Biden and officials with the Romanian embassy, blaming the department for failing to hand over the documents it had requested via Freedom of Information Act in a timely manner,” the New York Post reports.

Trump Directly Involved in Plans to Seize Voting Machines

January 31, 2022 at 11:16 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New accounts show that Donald Trump “was more directly involved than previously known in exploring proposals to use his national security agencies to seize voting machines as he grasped unsuccessfully for evidence of fraud that would help him reverse his defeat in the 2020 election,” the New York Times reports.

“The existence of proposals to use at least three federal departments to assist Mr. Trump’s attempt to stay in power has been publicly known. The proposals involving the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security were codified by advisers in the form of draft executive orders.”

“But the new accounts provide fresh insight into how the former president considered and to some degree pushed the plans, which would have taken the United States into uncharted territory by using federal authority to seize control of the voting systems run by states on baseless grounds of widespread voting fraud.”

GOP Candidate Says Rape Victims Shouldn’t Get Abortions

January 31, 2022 at 9:47 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Michigan gubernatorial candidate Garrett Soldano (R) said in a radio interview that we must “inspire women” who have been raped to understand how heroic they are in giving birth and see that “God put them in this moment.”

He added: “And they don’t know, that little baby inside them may be the next president, may be the next person who changes humanity.”

Trump Has $122 Million War Chest

January 31, 2022 at 9:07 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Former President Donald Trump’s political organization has amassed $122 million in cash reserves,” CNN reports.

“The war chest he has stockpiled is unprecedented for a former President and underscores his financial dominance in Republican politics more than a year after leaving the White House and in the midst of a critical midterm cycle.”

That’s more than double the cash on hand of the Republican National Committee itself.

Trump Had Two Drafted Orders to Seize Voting Machines

January 31, 2022 at 9:05 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Former President Donald Trump’s advisers drafted two versions of an executive order to seize voting machines — one directing the Department of Defense to do so and another the Department of Homeland Security — as part of a broader effort to undermine the 2020 election results,” CNN reports.

“The idea of using the federal government to access voting machines in states that Trump lost was the brainchild of retired Col. Phil Waldron and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser.”

Trump Helps Launch NRSC Podcast

January 31, 2022 at 9:03 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Senate Republicans’ campaign and fundraising arm is launching a new podcast — with Donald Trump as its debut guest and donor lure,” Axios reports.

U.S. and Allies Close to Reviving Nuclear Deal With Iran

January 31, 2022 at 7:53 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The United States and its European allies appear on the cusp of restoring the deal that limited Iran’s nuclear program, Biden administration officials said on Monday, but cautioned that it is now up to the new government in Tehran to decide whether, after months of negotiations, it is willing to dismantle much of its nuclear production facilities in return for sanctions relief,” the New York Times reports.

Some Trump Records Were Torn Up and Taped Together

January 31, 2022 at 7:52 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“When the National Archives and Records Administration handed over a trove of documents to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, some of the Trump White House records had been ripped up and then taped back together,“ the Washington Post reports.

“Former president Donald Trump was known inside the White House for his unusual and potentially unlawful habit of tearing presidential records into shreds and tossing them on the floor — creating a headache for records management analysts who meticulously used Scotch tape to piece together fragments of paper that were sometimes as small as confetti.”

Most Senate Democrats Back Off Manchin and Sinema

January 31, 2022 at 7:46 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Bernie Sanders is still encouraging liberal primary challengers to Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin. The rest of the Democratic caucus is ready to move on and try to keep hold of their fragile majority,” Politico reports.

“Mere days after their two centrists’ high-profile refusal to change chamber rules in order to pass election reform, Democrats say there’s no more time for infighting in a 50-50 Senate.”

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