“The bill to change Utah’s state flag squeaked by on the House floor Thursday morning on a razor-thin 40-35 vote, thus ending debate on the surprising controversy that engulfed the Legislature since the start of the 2023 session,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
“Proponents have claimed the redesign would be a good marketing tool for the state because it would look good printed on clothing, mugs or other knickknacks.”
“After having helped President Joe Biden secure more than 100 judges, Democrats are hitting some turbulence in their push to reshape the courts,” NBC News reports.
“With absences causing delays, a custom for home state senators threatening to keep seats open and storm clouds gathering over some of Biden’s judicial picks, the next 100 will be tougher.”
“The Senate Judiciary Committee, which advances nominees for full Senate confirmation, is hindered by two major Democratic absences. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California was hospitalized ‘with a case of the shingles,’ prompting the committee to delay a scheduled Thursday meeting to advance judicial nominees; she said she hopes to return to Washington ‘later this month.’ And the absence of Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who is getting help for clinical depression, forced Vice President Kamala Harris to break ties for judges this week.”
“The Biden White House has been trolling Fox News over revelations from the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit that the network knowingly aired false claims about the 2020 presidential election,” Semafor reports.
In leaked audio heard by the Guardian, “a manager for one of the US’s largest rail companies can be heard explaining to a former carman that they should stop tagging railcars for broken bearings.”
“The manager says doing so delays other cargo.”
Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) “wants to stay in Washington longer than he previously said he would,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Grothman “indicated this week he would break a pledge he made during his first campaign for Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District to serve only five two-year terms in the House.”
Said Grothman: “I have only been here for — only two of my 10 years I’ve been here in which we had a majority with a Republican president. And I look forward to having that situation two years from today.”
“President Biden has grown so close to his volunteer muse, Jon Meacham, that he tried to bring the presidential historian into the White House,” Axios reports.
“Meacham is preparing to dive into the life of President Dwight Eisenhower for his next book. So a government gig doesn’t appear to be in the cards — but the overture reflects their warm relationship.”
“The top leaders in North Carolina’s legislature reached an agreement that is expected to expand Medicaid coverage. The momentous deal, announced Thursday, is the culmination of more than a decade of political wrangling and a Republican change of heart,” WRAL reports.
“The deal will allow North Carolina, at no cost to state government, to give health insurance to hundreds of thousands of the state’s working poor. The federal government will pay for 90% of the cost, and the rest will be covered by a new tax on hospitals and insurance companies.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) ramped up his ongoing feud with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), using a speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference to tear into an “old Republican establishment” that Scott said had capitulated to Democrats for years, The Hill reports.
Said Scott: “It’s not just the Democrats in Washington who are destroying our country. You have heard the famous quote: ‘We have met the enemy and he is us’.”
He added: “Unfortunately, some of the leaders of our old Republican establishment have been in Washington way too long and forgotten why they came here. They’ve gotten used to caving in to the Democrats. They do it over and over and over. Instead of the Democrats compromising their liberal principles, they roll over, and compromise our conservative principles.”
“A virtual event with Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller was canceled on Thursday after the Zoom video conference was ‘hijacked’ by a participant who displayed pornographic images,” Reuters reports.
A South Carolina woman “was arrested earlier this week and charged with performing or soliciting an abortion,” the Columbia State reports.
“The incident report says the woman told medical personnel she had taken abortion pills to end a pregnancy. State law prohibits self-medication to abort a pregnancy. The fetus was stillborn and was determined to be 25 weeks and four days, according to the incident report.”
Donald Trump “is convinced his attacks on Ron DeSantis are chipping away at the Florida governor’s support and confidence,” Axios reports. “So Trump is planning to amp up the attacks and name-calling in the coming weeks.”
Trump believes there are five areas of weakness for the Florida governor, including his past support for changes to Social Security and Medicare, his initially cautious response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and his “disloyalty” to Trump himself.
He also plans to call him a “Reagan Republican.”
“It’s going to cost a lot to get Ron DeSantis to show up in person to collect political checks: about $1 million,” NBC News reports.
“That’s the aggressive goal set to draw the Florida governor and likely 2024 presidential candidate to travel out of his way for fundraising events, according to three Republicans involved in efforts to raise cash for DeSantis during the shadow primary period.”
“No Nevada Republicans have officially entered the race to challenge Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) for re-election to the Senate in 2024, but at least one potential candidate is staying out of the race,” the Nevada Independent reports.
“Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) – Nevada’s sole Republican in Congress – said he plans to continue to serve in the House of Representatives.”
“A Belarusian court found Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, the country’s most prominent human rights activist, guilty of smuggling and financing protests and sentenced him to 10 years in prison,” Axios reports.
Playbook: “With the veto threat off the table, expect Senate Democrats to back the resolution in big numbers when it comes to the floor as soon as next week. And expect vulnerable House Democrats who opposed the measure to face a surge of political attacks back home.”
“Meanwhile, Biden has once again made it clear that he believes criticism from the right over increases in crime is a serious vulnerability for Democrats — it drove the Dems’ House losses in New York in November — and that his party should insulate itself, even if that means violating a core principle about self-governance.”
Politico: “Every four years, the Beltway media establishment anoints a favorite Republican. The New Hampshire governor is doing everything right.”
Politico: “As the new Congress enters its third month, Democrats are full of bluster about their chances of recapturing the majority next year and handing Jeffries the gavel. Some lawmakers made possibly intentional verbal flubs, referring to their ‘majority’ leaders, as they talked about efforts to unite behind a winning 2024 message.”
“This year’s Baltimore gathering marked a fresh test not just for Jeffries, but for the entire new troika of leaders, including Clark and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA). While lawmakers wouldn’t draw direct comparisons to their former head trio, they were endlessly optimistic that the new generation of leaders would usher in a younger, more diverse and unified caucus — the last aspect essential if they want any hope of winning the House majority next year.”
Associated Press: Echoes of Pelosi as new leadership era begins for Democrats.
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.