“Ford has refused to fire the factory worker who heckled President Donald Trump last month,” the Daily Beast reports.
“Thomas ‘TJ’ Sabula was suspended after calling Trump a ‘pedophile protector,’ but United Auto Workers Vice President Laura Dickerson says the 40-year-old is back working and does not have a negative mark on his personnel file.”
“A federal judge is expected to soon rule on whether President Donald Trump’s planned $400 million White House ballroom project can proceed, zeroing in on whether the administration’s plan to rely on private donations allows it to bypass congressional approval,” the Washington Post reports.
“Trump has argued that the approach spares taxpayers the expense, but the dispute has instead highlighted a lack of transparency over how the project is being financed.”
“The federal government will not have to restore funding to the $16 billion Gateway rail tunnel project between New York City and New Jersey before 5 p.m. on Thursday, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled on Monday,” the New York Times reports.
“U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas had ordered the funding restored at the end of last week, after the states of New York and New Jersey sued the federal Department of Transportation for suspending the project’s funding four months ago.”
“Israel’s government is deepening a push by far-right ministers to expand its authority and settlements in the West Bank, giving it broad new powers in a territory that would make up the heart of any future Palestinian state,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Lawmakers have the opportunity beginning today to review the full unredacted files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, so CNN has ranked the 13 most questionable redactions.
According to The Hill, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said after reviewing the unredacted Epstein files that the Justice Department appears to have flouted the law when concealing various names in documents.
Bloomberg: “Iran extended the prison sentence of a Nobel peace laureate and detained several prominent reformist figures, escalating a crackdown on dissents weeks after security forces killed thousands of people to quell nationwide protests.”
“Keir Starmer’s cabinet members voiced their support for the prime minister on Monday, buying him time to shore up his beleaguered premiership after the Labour Party’s leader in Scotland urged him to quit,” Bloomberg reports.
“The support from cabinet ministers came after Sarwar’s intervention and amid calls for Starmer’s resignation over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the US despite Mandelson’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.”
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said lower U.S. jobs numbers can be expected in the months ahead as population growth slows, Bloomberg reports.
The January report is due to be released on Wednesday.
Dr. Mehmet Oz responded to a recent surge in measles cases, urging Americans in a CNN interview to “take the vaccine, please.”
Said Oz: “We have a solution for a problem. Not all illnesses are equally dangerous and not all people are equally susceptible to those illnesses. But measles is one where you should get your vaccine.”
David Remnick: “How a gift for shooting the shit turned into an online empire—and a political force.”
Melania is having trouble staying on the field at the Super Bowl weekend box office, where it fell off a steep 67 percent, leading to a likely 10th-place finish with $2.4 million, the Hollywood Reporter reports.
New York Post: “Trump had at least 493 exchanges with journalists — including interviews and event Q&As — during the first year of his second term, compared to 246 over the first 365 days of his first term.”
“The tally includes at least 153 interviews (up from 95 during 2017-18), 327 short question-and-answer sessions (up from 128) and 13 formal press conferences (down from 23) between Inauguration Day and Jan. 20 of this year.”
Coming soon: Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today’s Supreme Court by Sarah Isgur.
“A myth-busting glimpse into the inner workings of the Supreme Court, revealing what we get wrong about the Roberts Court, what the justices’ clerks gossip about, and how to fix a court in crisis.”
Democratic challengers see an opening to defeat Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) and Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), NOTUS reports.
Peter Wehner: “The spirit of love and reconciliation that Jesus of Nazareth taught 2,000 years ago was not particularly evident in the words of the president. Of course, it never has been. No matter. The audience of some 3,500—the great majority of whom undoubtedly claim to be followers of Jesus—responded to Trump’s remarks with a standing ovation.”
“Lawmakers tried Monday to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, but the former girlfriend and confidante of Jeffrey Epstein invoked her 5th Amendment rights to avoid answering questions that would be incriminating,” the AP reports.
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.
