Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) endorsed former President Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White House on Friday, becoming the fifth Republican and third freshman senator to offer his support, Politico reports.
What to Make of Mike Pence Being Subpoenaed
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China Finding It Harder to Play Down Spy Balloon
“Since the spy balloon saga started, China has tried to play down the incident, maintaining that the United States is overreacting and that the vessel is mainly for gathering meteorological data,” the New York Times reports.
“But as American alarm and accusations have mounted about a broad surveillance program by Beijing, that strategy is increasingly coming under strain, forcing China into an awkward, at times self-contradictory position. Beijing is also starting to adopt a more confrontational tone, further raising the specter of escalation.”
FBI Finds New Classified Document Found at Pence’s Home
Federal investigators found one additional document with classified markings during a search of former Vice President Mike Pence’s Indiana home on Friday, The Hill reports.
Federal Government Borrowing Costs Rise
Wall Street Journal: “The Treasury’s spending on interest on the debt is up 41% to $198 billion in the first four months of this fiscal year compared with $140 billion in the same period last year, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate of spending through January.”
“Paying more for interest on the debt has been among the government’s largest spending increases so far this year, the CBO said.”
Tim Scott Staffs Up
“Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) has hired former Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner and longtime Republican operative Rob Collins to co-chair a super PAC supporting the senator’s political efforts,” Axios reports.
“Scott’s decision to tap two politically-savvy Republicans — a former senator who chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee and a former executive director of the NRSC — is a sign that he’s moving closer to launching a 2024 presidential campaign.”
Republicans Probe SEC Role in Bankman-Fried Arrest
“Top House Republicans on Friday demanded answers from SEC Chair Gary Gensler about why former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested on the eve of his scheduled appearance before the Financial Services Committee last year,” Politico reports.
Pentagon Downed Object Over Alaska
“The Pentagon downed an unidentified object over Alaska on Friday at the order of President Biden,” the New York Times reports.
“It was not confirmed if the object was a balloon, but it was traveling at an altitude that made it a potential threat to civilian aircraft.”
Biden Triangulates
Andrew Sullivan: “I used to hate Bill Clinton’s State of the Union speeches. He’d usually arrive inexcusably late; proceed to hug everyone within touching distance; then blather on for well over an hour about every policy minutia the DC wonk class obsesses over. One year, he was still talking an hour and a half in. Then he’d stay forever afterwards, incapable of saying goodbye, absorbing every milliliter of love he could drain from the crowd, and generally looking like he was having the time of his life.”
“I was bored silly. But you know what? People loved those speeches. They loved the laundry list of post-big-government specifics, and they loved the way Clinton effortlessly stole most of the right’s policies, while appearing to be far saner and happier than any of them. And as I absorbed Biden’s SOTU this week, it was Bill Clinton who came to mind, the last Democrat who merrily triangulated his way to a landslide re-election.”
Donald Trump Aims for YouTube Return
“Donald Trump’s social-media reach expanded this week with the restoration of his Facebook and Instagram accounts, and he is now seeking a return to YouTube, people familiar with the move say, as he looks to boost his 2024 presidential campaign,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
John Fetterman Struggling to Adjust to Life in the Senate
Washington Post: “Fetterman declined to be interviewed for this story. But aides and confidantes describe his introduction to the Senate as a difficult period, filled with unfamiliar duties that are taxing for someone still in recovery: meetings with constituents, attending caucus and committee meetings, appearing in public at White House events and at the State of the Union address, as well as making appearances in Pennsylvania. The most evident disability is a neurological condition that impairs his hearing…”
“It has been less than a year since the stroke transformed him from someone with a large stature that suggested machismo — a central part of his political identity — into a physically altered version of himself, and he is frustrated at times that he is not yet back to the man he once was. He has had to come to terms with the fact that he may have set himself back permanently by not taking the recommended amount of rest during the campaign. And he continues to push himself in ways that people close to him worry are detrimental.”
DeSantis Wanted to Ban Guns at Event
“As Gov. Ron DeSantis prepared for an election night party in downtown Tampa last year, city officials received a surprising — and politically sensitive — request,” the Washington Post reports.
“The Republican governor’s campaign wanted weapons banned from his victory celebration at the city-run Tampa Convention Center, a city official said in emails obtained by The Washington Post. And the campaign suggested that the city take responsibility for the firearms ban, the official said — not the governor, who has been a vocal supporter of gun rights.”
Biden Preparing Largest Pentagon Budget in History
“The Biden administration is preparing to ask Congress for the largest Pentagon budget in history, according to the Defense Department’s chief financial officer, as partisan squabbling over the debt ceiling raises the specter of deep cuts to the military’s funding plans,” Politico reports.
Trump Loses Patience with Turning Point USA
NBC News: “Started in 2012 to energize young conservatives, the group has quickly grown to become a sort of quasi-party apparatus in its own right through organizing, holding rallies with prominent conservatives and, perhaps most importantly, tying itself closely to former President Donald Trump and his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.”
“But, like for many groups on the right, the past few months have been rough following the GOP’s underwhelming midterm performance. Some Republicans now question whether the group and its founder, Charlie Kirk, were overhyped, particularly after top-of-the-ticket losses for candidates it went all in for in Arizona, the state where it bases its operations and which it seeks to use as a testing ground.”
“A bigger problem for Kirk and Turning Point, however, is that they may be losing the confidence of their most important supporter: Trump.”
Another GOP Lawmaker Made Up Her Biography
The Washington Post questions several aspects of freshman Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s (R-FL) life story, from her religious and ethnic identity to her impoverished upbringing.
Specifically, Luna’s claim that she grew up poor and isolated, with her father in and out of prison, was not supported by prison records or by relatives interviewed. And her story of enduring a traumatizing “home invasion” was also undercut by police records.
Hispanic Caucus Has No Staff
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is left with no staffers after four resigned this week, and the final remaining staffer was fired by its chair, Rep. Nannette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), The Hill reports.
White House Says Fox Canceled Super Bowl Interview
“President Biden will not sit for the traditional pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox, which is airing the game on Sunday,” The Hill reports.
Said press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre: “The President was looking forward to an interview… We’ve been informed that Fox Corp has asked for the interview to be cancelled.”
Daily Beast: “This would mark a departure from the traditional interview that features the sitting president being interviewed by a news figure from the network hosting the big game. Fox is airing Sunday’s matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.”
Kyrsten Sinema Is Almost Certainly Running Again
Tara Pameri: “There’s a consensual delusion playing out within part of the left these days that Kyrsten Sinema—the subject of endless Washingtonian curiosity on account of her tacky yellow-winged frocks, wigs, go-go boots, oenophile bisexual ironman lifestyle, date nights with Kevin McCarthy, and, yes, Democrat-to-independent conversion—might somehow decide not to run for re-election in 2024.”
“Of course, that would make things easier for the Democrats—easier for Rep. Ruben Gallego, her pesky Democratic challenger, who has been aiming his fire at Sinema for years; for majority leader Chuck Schumer, who presumably prefers to stay neutral rather than antagonize Sinema, who votes with his caucus the vast majority of the time; and for caucus more generally, which is sick of her complicating their priorities as a mini-Manchin. Perhaps, the wistful fantasy goes, Sinema will just decide she’d rather ride things out writing bestsellers in the desert and sitting on the board of companies like Pfizer.”
“Alas, this is all nonsense: Sinema, a fundraising machine and darling of Wall Street and Big Pharma, alike, will run for Senate in Arizona as an independent, even if that means she’s a spoiler for Democrats.”
