After tripping last night, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is being treated for a concussion and is expected to remain in the hospital for “a few days of observation and treatment,” CNN reports.
Biden’s Pick to Run IRS Confirmed by Senate
“President Biden’s pick to run the Internal Revenue Service won Senate confirmation Thursday and will manage the tax agency’s $80 billion expansion,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Danny Werfel, a former acting IRS commissioner, received bipartisan support in the Senate. Republican lawmakers have signaled they would exercise tough oversight as the agency seeks to boost enforcement and update its technology.”
Oscars Reject Zelensky’s Bid to Appear on Telecast
Variety: “For the past year, Volodymyr Zelensky has been greeted with open arms by awards shows, film festivals and even the New York Stock Exchange. But when it comes to landing airtime on the most coveted telecast of all — the Oscars — the Ukrainian leader is being met with a cold shoulder.”
“For the second year in a row, the Academy has snubbed Zelensky, who was hoping to follow up his Berlin Film Festival (remote) appearance last month with a virtual spot on Sunday’s Oscar telecast on ABC.”
Alex Jones Pitches Bankruptcy Plan
“Alex Jones’ media company has proposed a plan in its bankruptcy case to pay the conspiracy theorist $520,000 a year while leaving $7 million to $10 million annually to pay off creditors, including relatives of Sandy Hook shooting victims,” the AP reports.
Quote of the Day
“Putin would have never done it. That’s without even negotiating a deal. I could have negotiated. At worst, I could’ve made a deal to take over something, there are certain areas that are Russian-speaking areas, frankly, but you could’ve worked a deal.”
— Donald Trump, in an interview with Sean Hannity, saying he would have given parts of Ukraine to Russia.
Jim Jordan’s Investigation Hampered by Democrats
The Economist: “No party will ever again make the mistake the Republicans made when they chose to object to the January 6th committee by not nominating members to it. That freed the committee’s Democrats, and the two Republicans who defied their leadership to take part, to script a coherent and at times riveting television series about how Donald Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election.”
“Mr Jordan, by contrast, is stuck with Democrats, including the formidable ranking minority member, Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands, who can grill his witnesses and call their own.”
The Topic Biden Keeps Dodging
Ron Brownstein: “Through the early maneuvering, the leading Republican candidates, particularly former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are trying to ignite a procession of culture-war firefights against what DeSantis calls ‘the woke mind virus.'”
“With the exception of abortion rights, Biden, by contrast, is working to downplay or defuse almost all cultural issues. Instead Biden is targeting his communication with the public almost exclusively on delivering tangible economic benefits to working-class families, such as lower costs for insulin, the protection of Social Security and Medicare, and the creation of more manufacturing jobs…”
“The difference in emphasis is real, and the contrast illuminates the core of Biden’s vision about how to sustain a national majority for Democrats. He’s betting that the non-college-educated workers, especially those who are white, who constitute the principal audience for the Republican cultural offensive will prove less receptive to those divisive messages if they feel more economically secure.”
What If Biden Doesn’t Run Again?
The Economist: “There is precedent for a president reneging on a re-election pledge, but it is not a happy one. In 1968, after a disappointing show in the New Hampshire primaries, Lyndon Johnson dropped his campaign for another term just eight months before the presidential election—which his party subsequently lost to Richard Nixon. Still, an open primary might not be as catastrophic as some Democrats fear.”
“When evaluating a party’s presidential bench, conventional wisdom tends to focus on those who campaigned in the previous election. Most of those also-ran Democrats—such as Pete Buttigieg, now transportation secretary, and Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts senator—do not inspire much confidence as contenders. Ms Harris’s standing is so dismal that she would not freeze the field as Mrs Clinton did in 2016. That leaves room for alternatives.”
Fox News Is Now a Republican Problem Too
Amanda Carpenter: “McCarthy made an affirmative decision to collaborate with Fox News, even as the company is embroiled in a billion-dollar lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems, which has exposed in granular detail how Fox’s two-faced hosts, executives, and producers brazenly air content they know is untruthful. That makes this not just a Fox problem, but a Republican party problem, too.”
“What McCarthy is doing for power is precisely what Fox does to retain its ratings. Unsure how to navigate in a political environment controlled mainly by former President Donald Trump, they let the most radical elements of the MAGA coalition call the shots. It’s almost as if a “demonic force” came over them all.”
Special Counsel Seeks to Reject Trump’s Privilege Claims
“A federal judge is set to hear arguments Thursday over special counsel Jack Smith’s push to extract more grand-jury testimony from a lawyer for Donald Trump,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Biden Zeroes In on a Campaign Manager
“President Biden has narrowed down his choices on candidates to run his 2024 presidential reelection campaign,” The Hill reports.
“Jenn Ridder, who served as national states director for Biden’s 2020 bid, is said to be a leading contender for the campaign manager job.”
“Sam Cornale, the executive director of the Democratic National Committee, has also been discussed as a leading candidate, sources say, adding that it’s an ongoing, exhaustive process and there are other candidates in the mix for that position and other top roles.”
GOP Senator Won’t Discuss How Rioters Trashed His Office
NBC News: “One of the offices, federal prosecutors recently disclosed, belonged to Republican Jim Risch, the 79-year-old junior senator from Idaho, where Trump is tremendously popular.”
“Video shows a rioter — who has pleaded guilty to driving a stun gun into a police officer’s neck, nearly killing him — smashing out Risch’s window overlooking the Washington Monument and the national mall in an attempt to let more rioters into the building. Additional video released this week shows Risch’s trashed desk, including what looks like a framed campaign image bearing his last name.”
“A review of Risch’s public statements on the Jan. 6, 2021, riot show no indication that he has ever mentioned what happened to his office that day. Asked by NBC News this week about his office being trashed and told about the new footage of rioters in his hideaway, Risch demurred.”
Flashback Quote of the Day
“Bill O’Reilly is really talented, he’s more talented than I am, he’s got a lot more viewers, he’s a better communicator than I am, but I think there is a deep phoniness at the center of his schtick, and again as I say the schtick is built on the perception that he is the character he plays.”
— Tucker Carlson, on C-SPAN in 2003.
Earlier for members: The End of Tucker Carlson?
More Americans Are Skipping College
Associated Press: “What first looked like a pandemic blip has turned into a crisis. Nationwide, undergraduate college enrollment dropped 8% from 2019 to 2022, with declines even after returning to in-person classes, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse. The slide in the college-going rate since 2018 is the steepest on record, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.”
Tennessee Lt. Governor Commented on Naked Photos
Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally’s (R) official Instagram account repeatedly commented on nearly naked photos of a 20-year-old gay man, WKRN reports.
On one photo showing a man’s backside, the account commented with heart emojis and fire emojis and said, “you can turn a rainy day into rainbows and sunshine!”
McNally’s critics say it shows he is a hypocrite as the legislature passes anti-LGBTQ legislation.
Ex-Trump Attorney Admits She Lied About Election
“Jenna Ellis was censured by a disciplinary judge in Colorado Wednesday, in the latest effort to hold accountable attorneys who boosted former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election reversal gambits,” CNN reports.
“Ellis signed a stipulation stating that several comments she made about the 2020 election violated professional ethics rules barring reckless, knowing or intentional misrepresentations by attorneys.”
Biden Tacks Right on Crime and Immigration
“President Biden’s abrupt shift toward a tougher ‘law and order’ stance on crime and immigration has progressives nervous about where he’s headed next,” Semafor reports.
“One thing that both the immigration and crime moves had in common: Key allies complained they were given little warning about a sudden change in Biden’s position.”
Dick Morris had a word for it.
Letters to Trump
Donald Trump, in a new $99 book, plans to reveal 150 private letters sent to him — including one from Oprah Winfrey in 2000 in which she says: “Too bad we’re not running for office. What a team!,” Axios reports.
Trump writes that he still considers Winfrey “amazing” — but admits it’s not mutual: “Sadly, once I announced for President, she never spoke to me again.”
A signed copy is available for $399.
