Chris Licht, the new head of CNN, asked employees not to leak internal meetings, which was promptly leaked to the New York Times.
Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 187
Bad Instincts
Trial Balloon · Ep. 187: Bad Instincts
The ‘Worst Boss’ on Capitol Hill
“Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) topped a nonpartisan group’s ‘Worst Bosses’ list last year, winning the dubious title of most staff turnover in the House. Her retention record is only getting worse,” Politico reports.
“The frequent departures stem from an allegedly unhealthy work environment, according to interviews with eight people, including more than a half-dozen former staffers as well as Republicans familiar with her office dynamics who were granted anonymity to speak candidly. They described Spartz as an unpredictable boss whose temper can rocket from tepid to boiling.”
15 States Battle to Go First In 2024 Democratic Primary
“More than a dozen states and at least one territory are applying to be among the first to vote for Democrats’ next presidential nominee — with the biggest pile-up coming out of the Midwest, where states are jockeying to take Iowa’s long-held early spot,” Politico reports.
“Fifteen state parties and counting, plus Puerto Rico, have submitted letters of intent to the Democratic National Committee ahead of a Friday deadline to be considered as a 2024 early state.”
GOP Senators Want TV Rating for LGBTQ Characters
“A group of Republican senators want a new TV rating created so parents can block their children from watching shows with LGBTQ characters,” the New York Post reports.
From their letter: “In recent years, concerning topics of a sexual nature have become aggressively politicized and promoted in children’s programming, including irreversible and harmful experimental treatments for mental disorders like gender dysphoria.”
GOP Candidate Wins Primary from Jail
Andrew Wilhoite (R) won a Republican primary in Indiana on Tuesday night after being arrested and jailed in the murder of his wife, Nikki Wilhoite, who had just finished her last round of chemotherapy, the Kansas City Star reports.
Trump Adviser Wanted 250,000 Troops at the Border
Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper told 60 Minutes that he personally killed a “ridiculous” plan from Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller to deploy 250,000 troops to the southern border as a migrant caravan approached.
Said Esper: “I was just flabbergasted.”
GOP Lawmaker Hired Man Who Lured Boy for Sex
Rep. Mary Miller’s (R-IL) campaign could not explain why a man convicted of luring a young boy for sex is so actively involved in her campaign to get re-elected, KSDK reports.
“Brad Graven enjoyed virtually unlimited access to Miller, served as her personal chauffeur at public events and raised money for her campaign. Miller trusted Graven with her family vehicle, which is adorned with campaign stickers and legislative license plates.”
Senate Signals It’s Opposed to Biden’s Iran Deal
Politico: “A bipartisan super-majority of senators voted late Wednesday to endorse a Republican-led measure stating that any nuclear agreement with Tehran should also address Iran’s support for terrorism in the region, and that the U.S. should not lift sanctions on an elite branch of the Iranian military, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”
U.S. Intel Helped Ukraine Sink Russian Flagship
“Intelligence shared by the U.S. helped Ukraine sink the Russian cruiser Moskva, confirming an American role in perhaps the most embarrassing blow to Vladimir Putin’s troubled invasion of Ukraine,” NBC News reports.
Trump Proposed Launching Missiles Into Mexico
“Former President Donald Trump asked Mark Esper, his defense secretary, about the possibility of launching missiles into Mexico to ‘destroy the drug labs’ and wipe out the cartels, maintaining that the United States’ involvement in a strike against its southern neighbor could be kept secret, Mr. Esper recounts in his upcoming memoir,” the New York Times reports.
“Those remarkable discussions in 2020 were among several moments that Mr. Esper described in the book, A Sacred Oath, as leaving him all but speechless when he served the 45th president.”
“Mr. Esper, the last Senate-confirmed defense secretary under Mr. Trump, also had concerns about speculation that the president might misuse the military around Election Day by, for instance, having soldiers seize ballot boxes.”
Ted Budd Way Ahead In North Carolina
A new Trafalgar Group poll in North Carolina finds Ted Budd (R), who was endorsed by Donald Trump, leading the GOP Senate primary field with 51%, followed by Pat McCrory (R) at 29% and Mark Walker (R) at 8%.
John Roberts Calls Leak ‘Absolutely Appalling’
Chief Justice John Roberts said that the leak of a draft opinion that would strike down Roe v. Wade is “absolutely appalling” and stressed that he hopes “one bad apple” would not change “people’s perception” of the nation’s highest court and workforce, CNN reports.
Roberts also said that if “the person” or “people” behind the leak think it will affect the work of the Supreme Court, they are “foolish.”
GOP Lawmaker Says Capitol Riot Wasn’t Terrorist Attack
Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) told West Virginia Metro News that it was “insulting” to classify the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol as a domestic terrorist attack.
Said Mooney: “It was a protest. It was a protest. That’s what it was. A few people went in and the law should be implemented for those who broke it.”
Politico: “For what it’s worth: Prosecutors have documented more than 1,000 assaults on police from those that participated in the attack. Several people also died.”
Michigan State Police Seize Voting Machine
“The Michigan State Police has expanded its investigation into whether third parties gained unauthorized access to voting machine data after the 2020 election, and is now examining potential breaches in at least one new county,” CNN reports.
Collins Opposes Creating Statutory Right to Abortion
“Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), one of two prominent Republican senators who support abortion rights, said Thursday that she does not support a measure that would create statutory right to the procedure, arguing that the legislation does not provide sufficient protection to antiabortion health providers,” the Washington Post reports.
“The statement from Collins comes as the Senate is preparing to vote next week on the legislation.”
Karine Jean-Pierre to Be White House Press Secretary
“Karine Jean-Pierre will take over as President Biden’s next White House press secretary within weeks, replacing Jen Psaki who plans to depart for a job in cable news,” the Washington Post reports.
“Jean-Pierre, who has served as Psaki’s top deputy since the start of the administration, will immediately become the public face of the Biden White House and the first Black person to hold the high-profile job of delivering the president’s daily message and fielding questions from an often skeptical press corps.”
Axios notes she will also be the first openly LGBTQ woman to hold the position.
Senate Republicans Discuss Nationwide Abortion Ban
“Senate Republicans have fought for decades to end Roe v. Wade. Now, with victory in sight, they are discussing whether to pursue nationwide restrictions on abortion if they gain power,” NBC News reports.
This Was Not a Surprise
Joshua Prager: “The pro-choice movement did not foresee a war here. NARAL’s executive director in 1973, when Roe was ruled upon, told her board after the ruling, ‘The court has spoken and the case is closed.’ They saw this as, basically: It’s over. We’ve won.”
“The very, very opposite is true of the pro-life, who said: OK, now we have to think about this strategically, how will we go about overturning Roe? As a result of that imbalance, the pro-choice were playing catch up really for 49 1/2 years, as the pro-life (movement has) over and over again come up with many different ways to chip away at Roe and has been remarkably successful.”
