Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), who was assaulted in her Washington apartment, reportedly deterred her attacker by pouring hot coffee over him, The Guardian reports.
Headed Towards World War III
Former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn floated a conspiracy theory that we are heading towards World War III because of the “biological weapon called the Covid vaccines.”
Exchange of the Day
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) questioned retired FBI Agent Thomas Baker at a House hearing:
GOLDMAN: Mr Baker, when did you retire from the FBI?
BAKER: 1999
GOLDMAN: Did smartphones exist back then?
BAKER: Of a sort.
GOLDMAN: Really?
BAKER: We had phones.
GOLDMAN: Do you know what a smartphone is?
Pentagon Looks to Restart Top Secret Ukraine Program
“The Pentagon is urging Congress to resume funding a pair of top-secret programs in Ukraine suspended ahead of Russia’s invasion last year,” the Washington Post reports.
“If approved, the move would allow American Special Operations troops to employ Ukrainian operatives to observe Russian military movements and counter disinformation.”
Barbara Lee to Run for Senate in California
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) “is planning to formally launch her campaign for U.S. Senate in California by the end of February, according to a person with knowledge of the plans who said Lee is timing her announcement to coincide with Black History Month,” the Washington Post reports.
Hunter Biden Resists First Records Request
“Hunter Biden’s legal team on Thursday defied a records request from House Republicans, calling their investigation into his business dealings an ‘expansive and invasive’ quest to turn President Biden’s son into a political weapon,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“In a letter to the House Oversight Committee, Mr. Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell questioned the legitimacy of the Republican-led inquiry into the president and his family, arguing that the investigation lacked a valid legislative purpose. Mr. Lowell repeatedly referred to the younger Mr. Biden as a private citizen and said the information sought by the House panel ‘is precisely what is prohibited by the Supreme Court.'”
Trump Plays Catch Up on GOP Fights Over Schools
“When Donald Trump hit the campaign trail for the first time this year, he vowed to cut federal funding to schools promoting ‘left-wing’ ideas about gender and race. After the former president suggested that parents should be able to vote out school principals, one woman pumped her fist from the balcony of the South Carolina State House and cheered so loudly that her voice cracked,” the Washington Post reports.
“In that moment, Trump was leaning into the issues animating the conservative base most fervently — and his aides took note of the enthusiastic response he received on his trip. With schools at the center of GOP complaints about the way Americans discuss race and gender, the debate over these topics is expected to be a focal point of the 2024 presidential primary, according to party activists and strategists.”
FEC Orders George Santos to Declare His Re-Election
“The Federal Election Commission sent a letter to GOP New York Rep. George Santos ordering him to officially declare that he is running for reelection in 2024, after he raised enough money following the midterm elections in November to trigger filing requirements,” CNN reports.
In the letter, the FEC asks Santos needs to “either disavow these activities by notifying the Commission in writing that you are not a candidate, or redesignate your principal campaign committee by filing a Statement of Candidacy.”
The NRA Has Lost More Than a Million Members
The Reload: “Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre told attendees at the gun-rights group’s most recent board meeting that the organization is down to 4.3 million members… That represents a downturn of more than a million members since allegations of financial impropriety were leveled against LaPierre and other members of NRA leadership in 2019.”
“The NRA is now smaller than it has been since 2012 when internal documents show the group had 4 million members.”
An Awkward Moment in Nevada
Following Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s announcement of a $2 billion loan for battery recycling in Nevada, Politico reports Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) praised the “science lesson” she gave and then asked her: “Did you actually understand this science or did you just memorize that?”
The crowd was silent.
Granholm, a Harvard Law graduate, later tweeted: “Big words can be intimidating, I understand. All the Governor needs to know is that $2 BILLION and thousands of good-paying jobs are coming to Nevada thanks to @POTUS.”
Unions Warn Democrats Against Atlanta for Convention
“Chicago Democrats are pushing President Biden to choose their city for the 2024 Democratic National Convention, warning that hosting the event in a right-to-work state like Georgia would be a major insult to the labor movement,” Axios reports.
“Atlanta, Chicago and New York are the leading cities being considered to host. Unlike the other two, Atlanta is in a right-to-work state.”
What Climate Law?
“President Joe Biden and his team are fanning out across the country to tout the climate-change-fighting, job-creating, money-saving benefits coming from Democrats’ landmark Inflation Reduction Act,” Politico reports.
“The problem? Most Americans have probably heard more about Republican complaints that Biden is coming for their gas stoves.”
Quote of the Day
“This is a bad idea. I think it will be a challenge for him to deal with this in his own reelection in Florida, a state with more elderly people than any other state in America.”
— Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), quoted by the AP, slamming Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-FL) plan to sunset all laws, including Social Security and Medicare.
The Quint
Playbook: “We heard a new term this week used inside the West Wing to describe President Joe Biden’s top five aides: ‘the quint.’ The term refers to Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, Anita Dunn, Bruce Reed and Jen O’Malley Dillon.”
Biden Meets with Lula
“When Brazil’s new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, meets President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday, the two hope to reset relations after an era defined by right-wing populists and threats to democracy in both nations,” CNN reports.
“The talks, expected to center around efforts to combat climate change and tackle anti-democratic extremism, come roughly a month after protesters aligned with far-right former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed government institutions in Brasilia following Bolsonaro’s election loss.”
Biden’s Best Speech Yet
Peggy Noonan: “It was the most effective of his presidency and for interesting reasons. Its first purpose was to demonstrate to his party that he’s in charge and formidable. He did that. The second, in my read, was to present himself in a new way to voters, especially those in the middle, and especially old Democratic constituencies. I think he did himself some good there…”
“This was great stuff. You can say Mr. Biden fibbed, misled and exaggerated, and you wouldn’t be wrong, but in rope-a-doping Republicans on Medicare and Social Security he showed real mastery. ‘Some Republicans—some Republicans—want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I’m not saying it’s the majority.’ When they catcalled and booed he said he was glad to see it—’I enjoy conversion.'”
“I don’t care how planned that line was, it was good.”
U.S.-China Hotline Went Unanswered
Associated Press: “Within hours of an Air Force F-22 downing a giant Chinese balloon that had crossed the United States, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reached out to his Chinese counterpart via a special crisis line, aiming for a quick general-to-general talk that could explain things and ease tensions.”
“But Austin’s effort Saturday fell flat, when Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe declined to get on the line, the Pentagon says.”
McConnell Distances from Rick Scott
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-K.) said in an interview that a proposed initiative to sunset Social Security and Medicare was not a “Republican plan,” but one proposed and supported only by fellow Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), The Hill reports.
Said McConnell: “Unfortunately, that was the Scott plan, that’s not a Republican plan. So it’s clearly the Rick Scott plan, it is not the Republican plan.”
He added: “And that’s the view of the Speaker of the House as well.”
