Jon Ralston announced that he’s writing a biography of former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).
“He is arguably the most powerful man in Nevada history and an important national figure. You think you know everything about Reid, but you don’t. He has done interviews, will do more.”
With President Joe Biden pushing congressional Democrats to increase taxes and chip away at former President Donald Trump’s tax law, Republicans are preparing for battle with a “boot camp,” reports the Washington Examiner.
“Rather than pushups and pullups, the members walked through percentages, averages, and milestones supporting their defense of the cuts.”
Washington Post: “A bipartisan group of senators is expected to introduce legislation Wednesday to lift significant financial burdens off the ailing U.S. Postal Service while tightening accountability requirements for mail delivery, a major stride toward reform for the agency that has tussled with its balance sheet and reputation for the better part of a year.”
Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN), the brother of former vice president Mike Pence, said that he will vote against the formation of an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, the Washington Post reports.
At one point during the Jan. 6 attack, a group of rioters began chanting, “Hang Mike Pence!” as they streamed through the main door on the east side of the Capitol.
All of which makes Pence’s statement even stranger: “Hanging Judge Nancy Pelosi is hellbent on pushing her version of partisan justice complete with a hand-picked jury that will carry out her pre-determined political execution of Donald Trump before law enforcement officials have completed their investigation.”
Republican senators publicly and privately tell CNN that the proposed Jan. 6 commission could undercut their party’s midterm election message.
Said Sen. John Thune (R-SD): “I want our midterm message to be on the kinds of things that the American people are dealing… not re-litigating the 2020 elections.”
Associated Press: “Pennsylvania voters became the first in the nation to impose restrictions on a governor’s authority under an emergency disaster declaration, approving constitutional amendments sped to a statewide referendum by Republican lawmakers angry over how Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf handled the pandemic response.”
“The two questions led with almost 54% of the vote, with 73% of precincts reporting. More than 2 million ballots were cast, still less than a quarter of the state’s 8.7 million registered voters.”
According to a new book, in conversations with advisers and donors during the Trump administration and the 2020 election, former President Barack Obama called Donald Trump a “madman,” a “racist, sexist pig,” “that fucking lunatic” and a “corrupt motherfucker,” The Guardian reports.
“Obama’s feelings are well-known, but have rarely been reported in such blunt detail.”
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) says there’s a greater than 50-50 chance of striking a deal on infrastructure with President Biden, Bloomberg reports.
“She doubted, however, that a bill can make it through the House and Senate by a July 4 deadline proposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.”
Norm Ornstein and Ruth Ben-Ghiat were interviewed by Mehdi Hasan on MSNBC:
HASAN: Do you believe a Republican-controlled Congress will allow a Democratic nominee for president who wins in 2024 to take office? Yes or no?
BEN-GHIAT: No.
ORNSTEIN: No.
Former President Trump “tore into New York prosecutors, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, after her office said that it is pursuing a criminal investigation into the Trump Organization,” NBC News reports.
Trump attacked James in a lengthy statement: “There is nothing more corrupt than an investigation that is in desperate search of a crime.”
He added: “But, make no mistake, that is exactly what is happening here. The Attorney General of New York literally campaigned on prosecuting Donald Trump even before she knew anything about me.”
Just yesterday, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) told NBC News he supported a bipartisan commission on Jan. 6, saying: “We clearly had an insurrection on that particular day, and I don’t want it to be swept under any rug.”
Now, according to HuffPost, Rounds has reversed himself after hearing from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy this morning: “Leadership in the House says it’s not bipartisan in nature.”
Associated Press: “Firms hired to run a partisan audit of the 2020 election for Senate Republicans in Arizona said Tuesday that data was not destroyed, reversing earlier allegations that election officials in the state’s most populated county eliminated evidence.”
“The claim of deleted databases was amplified by former President Donald Trump and his supporters, who believe conspiracy theories about election irregularities.”
“Gov. Greg Abbott signed into a law Wednesday a measure that would prohibit in Texas abortions as early as six weeks — before some women know they are pregnant — and open the door for almost any private citizen to sue abortion providers and others,” the Texas Tribune reports.
“The signing of the bill opens a new frontier in the battle over abortion restrictions as first-of-its-kind legal provisions — intended to make the law harder to block — are poised to be tested in the courts.”
Wall Street Journal: “More centrist Democrats are choosing not to run for re-election in the House and others are considering bowing out, creating headaches for local party officials trying to find replacements just as redistricting is introducing more uncertainty into the 2022 races.”
“Incumbent lawmakers tend to come with fundraising and name-recognition advantages, leaving Democrats concerned about a budding slate of retirements and Republicans talking up their chances.”
NBC News: “A federal appeals court sided with Ohio on Tuesday in the state’s effort to get detailed 2020 census data earlier than expected to draw new congressional and legislative districts.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that he will oppose legislation to create a commission tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol — a signal that the legislation will not have the votes to get through the Senate, the Washington Post reports.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.