“Conservatives in Washington are growing much more leery of groups with financial ties to Big Tech,” Axios reports.
“Third-party influence is a key lobbying strategy for major companies in Washington and has in the past been very effective for Silicon Valley. Now it’s becoming a liability, making it even harder for tech companies and their allies to push their message on Capitol Hill.”
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) was served with a lawsuit filed by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) seeking to hold him partially accountable for the January 6 insurrection, CNN reports.
“Swalwell’s legal team had had difficulty serving Brooks and hired a private investigator to give him the papers, according to court filings. Swalwell’s attorney, Matthew Kaiser, told CNN Sunday that a private investigator had left the papers with Brooks’ wife at their home in Alabama.”
“You can be the world’s greatest surfer and you can show up to the beach with the best surfboard you can imagine. But if there’s no waves that day, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
— Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), quoted by NBC News, on his chances if he runs for president in 2024.
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Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) compared Donald Trump’s election claims to those of the Chinese Communist Party on The Axe Files, concluding “it’s very dangerous and damaging.”
Said Cheney: “When he says that our system doesn’t work… when he suggests that it’s, you know, incapable of conveying the will of the people, you know, that somehow it’s failed — those are the same things that the Chinese government says about us.”
Jonathan Bernstein: “By now, it’s not news that Republicans, using the filibuster and other foot-dragging techniques, are doing their best to obstruct Senate action. To some extent this is about their opposition to Democratic legislation. But it’s more than that. They’re also stretching out how much time is spent on executive-branch nominations they don’t have the votes to defeat, for example, and even delaying those that they don’t object to.”
“To be sure, if Democrats had the votes, they’d fight back by streamlining Senate procedures to reduce the time it takes to act; for that matter, they’d also eliminate the filibuster, or at least reduce the opportunity to use it. Since they don’t have the votes, the only other option to fight back against obstruction is to add more floor time by canceling district work periods.”
Associated Press: “Republicans are fighting to seize control of Congress. Just don’t ask what they’d do if they win.”
“The GOP’s embrace of Trump’s self-serving priorities has almost completely consumed the party’s long-standing commitment to fiscal discipline, free markets and even the rule of law. That leaves Republican candidates from North Carolina to North Dakota unwilling or unable to tell voters how they would address the nation’s biggest challenges if given the chance.”
“Party leaders acknowledge it could be another year or more before Republicans develop a clear governing agenda.”
New York Times: “With a narrowly divided Congress and resistance from Republicans and business groups mounting, closing the deal at home may be an even bigger challenge.”
“Persuading members of the Group of 7 advanced economies to agree on Saturday to a global minimum tax of at least 15 percent was intended to help the Biden administration win support for its U.S. tax increases.”
Washington Post: “Plummeting vaccination rates have turned what officials hoped would be the ‘last mile’ of the coronavirus immunization campaign into a marathon … The United States is averaging fewer than 1 million shots per day, a decline of more than two-thirds from the peak of 3.4 million in April.”
“The slowdown is national — with every state down at least two-thirds from its peak — and particularly felt across the South and Midwest. … Recognizing the challenge — and the risk of missing the goal — Biden officials have mobilized thousands of organizations and volunteers.”
Politico: “Fewer than a quarter of Black Americans had received their first Covid-19 shot as of June 3.”
Associated Press: “Money is pouring into schools, social programs and infrastructure. At the same time, many states are socking away billions of dollars in savings.”
Associated Press: “Six months into the party’s hold on Washington … there is a gloomy uncertainty over their ability to make gains on campaign promises… Talks over an infrastructure package are teetering, though Biden is set to confer again Monday with the lead GOP negotiator, and an ambitious elections overhaul bill is essentially dead now that Sen. Joe Manchin announced his opposition Sunday.”
“The summer work period is traditionally among the busiest for Congress, but Democrats are growing wary because time is running out for Biden to negotiate a sweeping infrastructure package and other priorities are piling up undone. The days ahead are often seen as a last chance at legislating before the August recess and the start of campaigns for next year’s elections.”
Wall Street Journal: Biden’s agenda takes on steep GOP resistance in Senate.
New York Times: “Four years ago, European leaders were traumatized by President Donald Trump, who cheered Brexit and eviscerated NATO, declaring the alliance ‘obsolete,’ calling member countries deadbeats and at first refusing to explicitly endorse NATO’s bedrock mutual defense principle.
“As they prepare to welcome President Biden, the simple fact that he regards Europe as an ally and NATO as a vital element of Western security is almost a revelation. Yet the wrenching experience of the last presidential administration has left scars that some experts say will not soon heal.”
National Review: “Republicans swept key races for mayor in Texas on Saturday, setting back Democratic hopes that the state’s urban areas will deliver statewide majorities for them in the future. Most shocking: In McAllen, Texas, a border city of 150,000 people of which 85 percent are Hispanic, Republicans elected their first mayor ever.”
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) tweeted photos of his computer screen, including a sticker at the bottom of the screen that included his email password.
“House progressives are getting fed up with efforts to accommodate Republican senators — and Joe Manchin. Look for them to start demanding swift action — and threatening payback,” Axios reports.
“The White House is under growing pressure to accede to the left’s demand to bust the filibuster. That rule effectively requires the support of 10 Republicans for most measures in this 50-50 Senate, rather than the simple majority that most Democrats want.”
More than 300 million COVID-19 vaccines doses have now been administered in the U.S., Axios reports.
The latest CDC figures show that 41.9% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and 51.5% has received at least one dose.
Washington Post: Vaccination rates fall off, imperiling Biden’s July 4 goal.
The head of Israel’s internal security service said that “extremely violent and inciting discourse” targeting the lawmakers who are seeking to end Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year tenure as prime minister could take a potentially lethal form — a grim echo of the warnings ahead of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Post reports.
Donald Trump gave a big speech last night in North Carolina and many think he had his pants on backwards.
Watch the video and let us know what you think.
The White House’s press briefing room is slated to return to full seating capacity this week, Politico reports.
In addition, press capacity limitations on the White House grounds, including on the North Lawn and in indoor press workspaces, will return to 100 percent.
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.
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