A group of Hispanic lawmakers in Connecticut has proposed that the state follow Arkansas’ lead and ban the term “Latinx” from official government documents, calling it offensive to Spanish speakers, the AP reports.
Trump Keeps Attacking Early Voting
“When Donald Trump attacked early voting in New Hampshire Saturday, he was speaking to an audience who was excited to hear the message. Others aren’t so sure,” Bloomberg reports.
“Republican officials in the state, one of only four that don’t offer early in-person voting, applauded after Trump lamented its expansion since 2020, vowing that ‘someday’ the US would ‘be back to doing it the way it’s supposed to be: one-day voting.'”
“But everywhere else in Trump’s 2024 campaign travels, Republicans are more wary. They worry that his attacks might persuade GOP voters to avoid early in-person voting, hampering turnout in general elections, and leaving the party more vulnerable to Election Day snafus like those in Arizona and Pennsylvania last November.”
Megan Barry Mulls Comeback in Nashville
Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry (D) told Axios that she’s considering running for the office again.
Barry resigned from office in 2018 following the revelation that she had an affair with the head of her police security detail.
White House Mulls Debt Ceiling Off Ramp
Politico: “Biden officials have privately discussed the potential for a compromise that heads off a debt ceiling crisis while separately granting McCarthy small concessions that would allow him to save face with his party — such as creating a commission to study and propose future spending reforms.”
“But the White House is unwilling to touch entitlement spending or gut programs central to Biden’s agenda. And while McCarthy has tamped down early talk of cuts to Medicare and Social Security, he is still likely to pursue major funding reductions across much of the government.”
“That means that any agreement the White House might consider supporting at this early stage, officials have concluded, is unlikely to appeal to the GOP.”
Feds Looking Into George Santos Charity Scheme
FBI agents are investigating Rep. George Santos’ role in an alleged GoFundMe scheme involving a disabled U.S. Navy veteran’s dying service dog, Politico reports.
Illegal Border Crossings Plunge in January
“Tighter restrictions applied by the Biden administration against migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti along the southern border last month led to a precipitous drop in the number of people from those countries crossing into the United States illegally,” the Washington Post reports.
“Illegal crossings by migrants from the four countries were down more than 95 percent.”
Jon Tester Still Undecided About Running for Re-Election
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) “said he’s still undecided on whether to run for re-election in 2024, keeping Democrats in suspense for what will be a close-watched race,” NBC News reports.
Said Tester: “I’ve got a few things to think about. Ultimately, in the end, I’ve got a farm that’s been in the family for over 100 years.”
Fireworks Over the Pledge of Allegiance
“A routine House committee meeting erupted into a heated, nearly hourlong debate Wednesday over the Pledge of Allegiance, with one Democratic lawmaker saying that ‘insurrectionists’ who backed former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election should be banned from leading it,” NBC News reports.
Ilhan Omar’s Slow-Motion Finale
“The partisan clash over Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee is heading toward a slow-motion finale this week,” Punchbowl News reports.
“Although the House will vote on a rule authorizing Omar’s removal from Foreign Affairs this afternoon, Democratic leaders don’t plan to formally name her to the panel until after final votes today. Which means the House can’t remove her from the committee until Thursday.”
“The issue of whether the House will boot Omar from the panel doesn’t appear to be in doubt. Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other senior Republicans have been lobbying their rank-and-file members to back the Omar resolution approved by the Rules Committee on Tuesday night. At least two Republicans who were opposed to the move or wavering have now said they back it.”
Trump’s Financial Situation Is Shakier Than We Knew
“When Donald Trump left office in early 2021, he was apparently on much thinner financial ice than almost anyone knew,” the Daily Beast reports.
“That revelation, which three accounting experts confirmed upon reviewing Trump’s 2020 tax return, may help explain some of the financial and political moves the former president has made in the intervening years. Snowballing legal fees, along with other possible legal settlements and judgments, threaten to consume the cash pile he needs to bankroll his business activity, as well as fund a lavish lifestyle and maintain his image of excess—an emperor atop a golden toilet.”
The Fed Slows Rate Increases
“Federal Reserve officials made their eighth interest rate increase in a year on Wednesday as they continued their fight against rapid inflation. And while policymakers slowed the pace of adjustment to give themselves more time to see how their policies are affecting the economy, they signaled further rate moves to come,” the New York Times reports.
“The central bank concluded its first meeting of 2023 by announcing a quarter-point rate move, the smallest adjustment since March.”
Prosecutors Took Michael Cohen’s Phones
“Donald Trump’s long-estranged former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, says Manhattan prosecutors recently took his cellphones to preserve evidence related to a hush-money payment he made to porn actress Stormy Daniels in the waning weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign,” the AP reports.
“The payment to Daniels, which Cohen says was intended to buy her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, has been the subject of law-enforcement scrutiny for years, but a new grand jury is giving it a fresh look.”
Biden Shuffles His Economic Advisers
“The White House will likely appoint Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard to run the National Economic Council and Jared Bernstein to lead the Council of Economic Advisers,” CNBC reports.
“Both roles are integral to shaping Biden administration economic policy as the U.S. tries to tame high costs of living across the country. The appointments are expected to be announced after incoming White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients assumes his role, as soon as next week.”
When Americans Lost Faith in the News
New Yorker: “Half a century ago, most of the public said they trusted the news media. Today, most say they don’t. What happened to the power of the press?”
No Classified Documents Found in Search of Biden Home
No classified documents were found during the FBI’s search of President Joe Biden’s beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Wednesday, NBC News reports.
Trump Executive to Testify on Hush Money Payments
Jeffrey McConney, the controller of the Trump Organization, is expected to appear Thursday before a Manhattan grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump’s alleged role in a hush money payment scheme, CNN reports.
Putin’s Former Speechwriter Predicts Coup to Oust Him
Abbas Gallyamov, a former speechwriter for Vladimir Putin, predicted on CNN that a coup to oust the Russian president is a “real possibility” in the next year.
It Should Have Been Easier Than This for Trump
Jonathan Last: “Just as an objective matter, the 2024 nomination should be Trump’s to lose. He has the standing, the elected official support, the state-level infrastructure, and the money. If he’s the same candidate he was in 2016, then he should be able to grind out a victory pretty easily.”
“The 2016 version of Trump did a lot of things well. He had fun. He had tremendous energy. And he was attentive to the care and feeding of the people he brought into his movement.”
“So far, none of those descriptions match Trump 2024. He’s not having fun. He’s lethargic. And he’s basically decided that all of the people who flocked to him in 2016 because he was good for business owe him their continued support today, whether or not there’s anything in it for them.”
Philip Bump: Trump is at risk of being what he least wants to be: Boring.
