“Right now, looking at the polling, it’s not No Labels that’s going to re-elect Donald Trump. Right now, it looks like it’s Joe Biden who’s going to re-elect Donald Trump.”
— Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
“The nation’s immigration-court backlog swelled by more than a million cases in 2023, as the number of migrants seeking asylum at the U.S. border surged,” USA Today reports.
“The backlog surpassed 3 million cases in November, rising from 1.9 million cases in September 2022.”
“You never go get high on your own supply. And I’m not thinking about 2028. I am only making sure to prioritize 2024.”
— Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), when asked by Politico if he would ever run for president.
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“With U.S. and European aid to Ukraine now in serious jeopardy, the Biden administration and European officials are quietly shifting their focus from supporting Ukraine’s goal of total victory over Russia to improving its position in an eventual negotiation to end the war… Such a negotiation would likely mean giving up parts of Ukraine to Russia,” Politico reports.
Associated Press: “That complicated history is coming to the fore as Haley mounts a spirited effort to become the leading Republican alternative to Trump. Her strategy is centered on a strong showing in next month’s Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary before much of the campaign’s focus shifts to South Carolina, where the Feb. 24 contest could be the last chance for anyone other than Trump to prove they can survive.”
“But her home state has shifted closer to Trump in the near-decade since she last ran for state office, threatening her ability to tap into her local roots to notch the victory she has promised.”
“Despite President Joe Biden’s decision this summer to reverse a Trump-era move and keep U.S. Space Command in Colorado, House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers is already vowing to use the next defense policy bill to move to Alabama,” Politico reports.
“And if that doesn’t work, the Alabama Republican is banking on a second Donald Trump term to do it.”
“The Democratic-aligned House Majority PAC is putting down $5.2 million in initial reservations for TV and digital ads to try to win the House special election to replace the expelled Rep. George Santos (R-NY),” NBC News reports.
Rolling Stone: “For several months now… the former president has complained to an array of confidants and Republicans about the millions raised by the America First Policy Institute, a MAGAfied think tank launched near the start of his post-presidency. The nonprofit is populated by several former high-ranking Trump administration officials, including Larry Kudlow, Rick Perry, and Linda McMahon, and it’s led by Brooke Rollins, who served as a top White House domestic policy aide to Trump.”
“In the ex-president’s mind, Rollins was making a ‘killing’ off of his name, sources recount, and was stiffing Trump. ‘It’s not right,’ the former president has groused in recent months.”
“Doing what Trump has privately suggested would raise several legal issues… AFPI is a tax-exempt, educational nonprofit and is expressly barred under IRS rules from spending money on elections or donating to a political candidate like Trump. Given that Trump is a candidate for office, paying him personally could be seen as attempting to aid a political campaign.”
Israel Defense Forces Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said that he expects the war in Gaza will go on for “many more months,” The Hill reports.
Associated Press: “Criminal prosecutors may soon get to see over 900 documents pertaining to the alleged theft of a diary belonging to President Joe Biden’s daughter after a judge rejected the conservative group Project Veritas’ First Amendment claim.”
Vivek Ramaswamy defended pulling all his television ads just weeks before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.
Said Ramaswamy: “Presidential TV ad spending is idiotic, low-ROI & a trick that political consultants use to bamboozle candidates who suffer from low IQ. We’re doing it differently. Spending $$ in a way that follows data…apparently a crazy idea in US politics. Big surprise coming on Jan 15.”
“It’s going to be a gut check kind of a situation… Do we want chaos and somebody that is in three or four criminal hearings? Or do you want to have a decent and very effective president that has gotten us through the pandemic, addressed inflation and has been a real masterclass of diplomacy with Israel? And if you want to be more pissed off about a $16 McDonald’s extra meal, I don’t know.”
— Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), quoted by Politico, dismissing concerns about inflation.
“In a little-noticed October speech in Uganda, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) urged that nation to stand behind its new Anti-Homosexuality Act, which includes the death penalty,” Salon reports.
“Walberg’s remarks came at Uganda’s National Prayer Breakfast. His trip to attend the event was paid for by the secretive U.S. group behind the National Prayer Breakfast, congressional filings show.”
Los Angeles Times: “Although multiple City Council members said they do not support the former president and would like to see his star removed, nobody knows exactly how to make that happen. Several groups with varying levels of jurisdiction have a hand in operating the Walk of Fame, including the City Council, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the Hollywood Historic Trust.”
“The removal of a star is unprecedented, and a process for doing so has never been established.”
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) slammed James Carville over the Democratic strategist’s warnings that President Biden might lose in 2024, Politico reports.
Said Fetterman: “I’ll use this as another opportunity to tell James Carville to shut the fuck up. Like I said, my man hasn’t been relevant since grunge was a thing.”
Asked to respond to the senator’s comments, Carville said of Fetterman: “I’m glad he’s feeling better.”
A new AP-NORC poll finds about one-third of Republicans say they have a “great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence that votes in the Republican primary elections and caucuses will be counted correctly. About three in 10 Republicans report a “moderate” amount of confidence, and 32% say they have “only a little” or “none at all.”
In contrast, 72% of Democrats have high confidence their party will count votes accurately in its primary contests.
The New York Times sued Microsoft and OpenAI for alleged copyright infringement, touching off a legal fight over generative-AI technologies with far-reaching implications for the future of the news publishing business, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Donald Trump was pictured with family members on Christmas Day at his Florida residence, Mar-A-Lago, but no sign of wife Melania,” The Independent reports.
“In fact the former first lady is so rarely sighted at Mar-a-Lago that members of the Palm Beach private club are openly speculating about her whereabouts.”
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.
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