Drew Ferguson Mulls Senate Bid In Georgia
Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA) is considering a challenge to Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) next year, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
“Allies of the West Point Republican said he was consulting with national and state GOP figures about a campaign against Warnock, who defeated Sen. Kelly Loeffler in a January runoff special election and faces a 2022 contest for a full six-year term.”
Ammon Bundy Arrested for Failure to Appear in Court
“Ammon Bundy, who was to go on trial after being charged with trespassing in the Idaho Statehouse last year, was arrested Monday after he refused to wear a mask in court,” CNN reports.
“According to Ada County Sheriff spokesperson Patrick Orr, the Idaho Supreme Court has a mask mandate for anyone entering a courthouse, but when Bundy showed up Monday morning for the first day of his jury trial he wouldn’t wear one and was denied entry.”
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Lobbyist Indicted In Bribery Scheme Found Dead
“Florida authorities are investigating the death of Neil Clark, a longtime Ohio lobbyist indicted on racketeering charges last year,” the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
“A bicyclist reported encountering a body around 11:30 a.m. Monday in a wooded area near a pond near Clark’s Florida home.”
Russia Tried to Help Trump In Election
U.S. intelligence report says Russia attempted to interfere in 2020 election with goal of “denigrating” Biden and helping Trump, CNN reports.
“The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released its declassified report on foreign threats to 2020 US elections Tuesday, which concludes that foreign adversaries — including Russia — did attempt to interfere.”
Relief Plan Pitch Heads to Senate Battlegrounds
Washington Post: “The sales pitch — including a visit by Biden on Tuesday to Chester, Pa. — will feature a host of top administration and Cabinet officials and is expected to encompass Republican-leaning states, too. Biden could visit Ohio, for instance, as early as next week.”
“Democrats say the overlap between the competitive 2022 Senate races and traditional battleground states helps the White House achieve its dual goals of working to hold the Senate and thanking voters who supported Biden.”
Quote of the Day
“He has already done that. He’s proven he can do it, and he will do it again.”
— Sen. Dick Durbin, to HuffPost on Sen. Mitch McConnell’s threat to jam up the Senate.
More on McConnell’s Warning Shot to Democrats
Playbook elaborated on Sen. Mitch McConnell’s “scorched-Earth” threat from this morning:
“McConnell knows the ins and outs of Senate rules better than anyone. In an institution that operates by unanimous consent for everything — from turning on the lights, to allowing senators to give floor speeches or speed through the customary reading of lengthy legislative text — McConnell can slow down everything with one simple demand: Require quorums for everything. And he signaled he will.”
“McConnell also sought to appeal to Democrats’ pragmatic side: If they go nuclear, Republicans will utilize the new chamber rules when they return to power — and that’s just a matter of time, folks. Abortion legislation. Defunding sanctuary cities. Concealed-carry permits nationwide. Right to work. Energy drilling. Southern border lockdowns.”
Durbin’s Two Powerful Posts
Politico: “Dick Durbin recently won the toughest race of his long career — and then immediately started charming the fellow Democrat he’d just trounced.”
“Durbin bested Sheldon Whitehouse in a fierce competition for their party’s top spot on the Senate Judiciary Committee this winter after Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) stepped down from the position. But Durbin (D-IL) could not afford any long-term bad blood with his Rhode Island colleague: when he’s not leading one of the chamber’s most important committees, Durbin is also the Democratic whip in the most narrowly divided Senate in two decades.”
Collins Laughs at GOP Working with Biden on Taxes
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) burst out laughing when asked how Senate Republicans would react to President Biden’s tax proposals, the Washington Times reports.
Said Collins: “I would not anticipate that it would be well received.”
FBI Asked to Revisit Brett Kavanaugh Vetting
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is calling on the newly-confirmed attorney general, Merrick Garland, to help facilitate “proper oversight” by the Senate into questions about how thoroughly the FBI investigated Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing, The Guardian reports.
“Among the concerns listed in Whitehouse’s letter to Garland are allegations that some witnesses who wanted to share their accounts with the FBI could not find anyone at the bureau who would accept their testimony and that it had not assigned any individual to accept or gather evidence.”
McConnell Warns of ‘Scorched-Earth’ Senate
Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) offered a scathing warning to Democrats on Tuesday, amid growing pressure to nix the legislative filibuster, The Hill reports.
Said McConnell: “Let me say this very clearly for all 99 of my colleagues: Nobody serving in this chamber can even begin, can even begin, to imagine what a completely scorched-Earth Senate would look like.”
Washington Post: “McConnell’s warning, delivered on the Senate floor Tuesday, came after the chamber’s second-ranking Democrat, Majority Whip Richard Durbin backed eliminating the filibuster in a Monday floor speech — reversing his previous opposition.”
Republicans Take Credit for Relief They Opposed
Vox: “The popularity of the legislation puts Republican members of Congress in a bind: How does one message against a bill that most Americans like, and that will cut child poverty in half, while also juicing an economy that’s been ravaged by the year-long pandemic?”
“Some Republicans, perhaps understandably, are instead opting to instead focus on culture war distractions like whether Dr. Seuss is being ‘canceled.’ But others are shamelessly trying to take credit for Democratic policy right after they voted against it.”
Senate Centrists Weigh Brokering Deals
“A bipartisan group of senators who successfully pushed for a second coronavirus aid bill last year will meet on Wednesday as they weigh whether to wade into another thorny topic, such as immigration or the minimum wage,” Politico reports.
“The group of 20, evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, was formed to push Congress to pass a $900 billion pandemic stimulus bill late last year. Its meeting this week comes as the House prepares to pass immigration bills that will further reinforce the Senate’s gridlock on that issue without some bipartisan framework to break the impasse.”
Biden’s Mammoth Task on Reinvigorating Unions
John Harwood: “The question is whether even a supportive president can reverse the decline in union power that economists say has helped hollow out America’s middle class. Neither organized labor nor sympathetic politicians have managed to do that for decades.”
Gun Control Advocates Seek Biden’s Help
“After President Joe Biden’s giant COVID-19 relief bill passed Congress, he made a prime-time address to the nation and presided over a Rose Garden ceremony,” the AP reports.
“But there wasn’t so much as a statement from the White House after the House passed legislation that would require background checks for gun purchases, a signature Democratic issue for decades.”
“Biden’s views on gun regulation have evolved along with his party — at one point reluctant to impose too many restrictions that blue-collar Democrats opposed — to a near-unanimous call to do something about gun violence after a spate of mass shootings.”
Biden Heads to Pennsylvania to Tout Relief Plan
“President Joe Biden will join his administration’s tour of swing states to promote the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package Tuesday with a stop in the Philadelphia suburbs,” NBC News reports.
“Biden will visit a small business in Chester, Pennsylvania, in the mid-afternoon, where he plans to talk to people about the benefits of the American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law last week.”
Associated Press: Biden to join road show promoting relief plan with Pennsylvania visit.
