The Dispatch: “She could make her 2024 presidential bid official as soon as next month. Haley possesses the architecture of a robust, White House campaign operation through the Stand For America political action committee and Stand For America, a 501(c)(4) policy-focused political nonprofit organization. Trusted senior aides are already on board, prepared to step into positions directing political strategy, fundraising, communications, grassroots outreach, and policy development.”
McCarthy Loses Another Vote to Block Omar
The GOP effort to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee took another blow Friday, with Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) pledging to oppose it, NBC News reports.
Said Buck: “I think that we should not engage in this tit for tat. I am opposed to the selection — or the removal — of Congresswoman Omar from committees.”
Trump Hits the Trail After Slow Start
“Donald Trump is set to campaign in New Hampshire and South Carolina on Saturday, hitting the trail for the first time since launching his run to return to the White House while confronting growing Republican interest in elevating new standard-bearers,” the Washington Post reports.
“Saturday’s trip will serve as an early barometer of Trump’s support and his message. The former president will be stumping in two states where he triumphed in the 2016 primary, the last time there was an open race for the GOP nomination. But he has so far struggled to reignite the energy of previous runs and has until now foregone the usual barnstorming after a campaign kickoff. Some Republicans have been openly critical and many longtime allies are holding off on endorsements as a potentially crowded field takes shape, even as polls show Trump at or near the top.”
Ron DeSantis Preparing for a Presidential Bid
“Advisers to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are actively preparing for a possible presidential run, according to two Republicans with knowledge of the conversations who described meetings and preliminary staffing moves — the latest indication that DeSantis is laying a foundation for a national campaign,” the Washington Post reports.
“DeSantis’s political team has already identified multiple potential hires in early primary states such as New Hampshire and Iowa, according to one of the Republicans, who said experienced operatives have expressed interest. This Republican also said that Phil Cox and Generra Peck — two key members of DeSantis’s 2022 reelection team — are involved in ongoing talks about 2024.”
Russia Turns to the Architect of the War
“Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, the architect of President Vladimir V. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, took over the day-to-day running of Russia’s war effort this month by convincing his boss that his predecessor was too passive, American and European officials say,” the New York Times reports.
“But General Gerasimov’s turbocharged strategy is what led to Russia’s problems to begin with, and Moscow still does not have the troops, ammunition or equipment that military officials say it needs to mass the big offensive promised by the country’s senior military leader.”
Yellen Warns of Debt Ceiling Catastrophe
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Axios she is “nervous” about the U.S. defaulting on its debt and cautioned that Americans likely will face a scary and spiraling recession if Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling this summer.
Financial Times: Wall Street warns of riskiest US debt limit showdown since 2011.
Trump Shifts to Policy Issues
New York Times: “Over the past six weeks on his social media platform, Truth Social, Mr. Trump has been posting videos about his policy positions, including plans to protect Social Security and Medicare and ban Chinese nationals from owning U.S. farmland or telecommunications, energy, technology or medical supply companies.”
“The videos, in which the former president speaks directly to the camera, are aimed at reassuring supporters that he’s focused on topics other than his 2020 defeat, an issue that flopped with midterm voters.”
How Donald Trump’s 2024 Campaign Bounced Back
Matthew Continetti: “Trump’s rivals in both the Democratic and Republican parties are repeating the mistakes they made in the run-up to the 2016 election. The Democrats assume that there is no way for Trump to become president, while Republicans believe he will fade from the scene. Their failure to learn from history has made it possible not only for Trump to win the GOP nomination for the third straight time, but to pull another inside straight in the Electoral College and return to the White House. For decades, Trump has said that the political class is corrupt, insular, and incompetent, and that Republican leaders lack guts. Washington is doing its best to prove him right…”
“The presidential campaign is just beginning. No one knows what lies ahead. The Trump rebound may soon pass and won’t come again. There’s a sleeper candidate or two out there who will make this race interesting.”
“For now, though, Democrats and Republicans are gambling that they can behave in 2024 just like they did in 2016, but produce a different result.”
Biden’s Notebooks Were Seized by FBI in Search
“Notebooks that President Joe Biden wrote in during his time as vice president are among the items the FBI took from one of his Delaware homes during a search there last week,“ NBC News reports.
“The notebooks were seized because Biden’s writings on some of the pages relate to his official business as vice president, including details of his diplomatic engagements during the Obama administration, and may reference classified information.”
Many of George Santos’ Donors Don’t Seem To Exist
Mother Jones: “The contributions are among more than a dozen major donations to the 2020 Santos campaign for which the name or the address of the donor cannot be confirmed, a Mother Jones investigation found. A separate $2,800 donation was attributed in Santos’ reports filed with the Federal Election Commission to a friend of Santos who says he did not give the money.”
“Under federal campaign finance law, it is illegal to donate money using a false name or the name of someone else.”
Criminal Probe Launched Into George Santos
“The Justice Department has asked the Federal Election Commission to hold off on any enforcement action against George Santos, the Republican congressman from New York who lied about key aspects of his biography, as prosecutors conduct a parallel criminal probe,” the Washington Post reports.
“The request, which came from the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, is the clearest sign to date that federal prosecutors are examining Santos’s campaign finances.”
New Panel Already Considering Subpoenas
“Republican members of the newly created House subcommittee investigating the ‘weaponization’ of the federal government discussed the possibility of issuing subpoenas during their first closed-door meeting on Friday,” Axios reports.
“It’s a clear indication of the aggressive posture and approach that the committee has been expected to take in probing federal law enforcement including the Justice Department and FBI.”
Wisconsin Judge Opening Gun Range That Serves Alcohol
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Jennifer Dorow, and her husband Brian, are developing an indoor gun range that would not only host weddings and other events, but would also serve alcohol, Yahoo News reports.
The couple requested a Class B liquor license to sell beer and wine to members and guests in the ‘clubhouse.’ The range would also sell firearms and accessories on-site.
Man Who Pepper Sprayed Officer Gets Nearly 7 Years
“A federal judge sentenced the Pennsylvania man who pepper sprayed U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick on Jan. 6, 2021, to six years and eight months in prison Friday, saying he found his assault on outnumbered officers inexusable,” WUSA reports.
RNC Condemns Kanye West and Nick Fuentes
The RNC approved a resolution at their annual meeting Friday condemning antisemitism — including specifically calling out Kanye West and Nick Fuentes — but made no mention of their infamous dinner meeting with Donald Trump.
Pence Admits Mistakes with Classified Documents
Former Vice President Mike Pence said Friday that he had been previously unaware classified documents were at his Indiana home but that “mistakes were made” and he takes full responsibility, CNN reports.
Ronna McDaniel Wins Fourth Term as RNC Chair
“The Republican National Committee on Friday voted to reelect Ronna McDaniel to a fourth two-year term as party chair, opting not to punish her for the GOP’s recent string of electoral defeats,” the Washington Post reports.
“McDaniel fended off a challenge from Harmeet Dhillon, a California lawyer who has represented former president Donald Trump and the unsuccessful Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, seizing on grass-roots furor demanding new leadership. McDaniel positioned herself as a steady hand and honest broker who can hold together the party’s factions and continue building out the RNC’s financial and field resources. She prevailed on the first ballot, 111-51.”
The White House Should Have Been More Transparent
David Axelrod: “Crisis communications, at its core, is pretty simple: Discern where the story is going. Fully disclose the facts. Admit where mistakes were made. And do it all as quickly and thoroughly as possible.”
“So it’s been a little confounding to watch Joe Biden’s White House deal with the discovery of classified documents from his years as vice president and in the Senate casually stored in a variety of locations, including his garage in Wilmington, Delaware, beside his prized 1967 Corvette.”
