“President Joe Biden is expected to announce a new nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as early as this month,“ Politico reports.
“Deliberations are ongoing but Steve Dettelbach, a former federal attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, is seriously being considered by the White House for the post.”
“Oklahoma’s legislature on Tuesday passed a near-total ban on abortion, one of the most sweeping bans passed this year as Republican-led states test the constitutional limits of abortion rights,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The Oklahoma bill bans abortion from the beginning of pregnancy except if the life of the mother is in danger. There is no exception for rape or incest.”
“Under the law, an abortion provider could face up to 10 years in prison. Mothers wouldn’t face criminal penalties.”
The Biden administration plans to freeze federal student loan payments through Aug. 31, extending a moratorium that has allowed millions of Americans to postpone payments during the coronavirus pandemic, the AP reports.
Forbes’ 36th annual World’s Billionaires List, out Tuesday, reveals 2,668 billionaires, including 236 newcomers — down from last year’s record 2,755 billionaire, Axios reports.
Philip Bump: “At this point, though, insinuations about Democrats embracing pedophilia or downplaying sex crimes victimizing children are not simply the political fringe making its way into the Capitol.”
“Instead, ‘pedophile’ or ‘groomer’ — a term used to describe people who try to prepare children for abuse — has of late replaced ‘socialist’ as a preferred, political, pejorative, long-standing potency of elevating fears about the safety of children has combined with specific political fights like the Jackson nomination and Florida’s new legislation limiting instruction about non-heterosexual relationships to spur a new rhetorical focus.”
Boeing factory problems disrupted production of one of its new Air Force One planes earlier this year, adding to the manufacturer’s stumbles developing the U.S. presidential jets, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Walter Russell Mead: “A Russian victory would inflict a massive blow to American prestige and the health of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, especially if the West were seen as forcing Ukraine to surrender to Russian demands. Freezing the conflict is also perilous, as this would presumably leave Russia holding even more Ukrainian territory than it did following the 2014 invasions of Crimea and the Donbas. It would be hard to spin this as anything but a partial victory for Russia—and Mr. Putin would remain free to renew hostilities at a time of his choosing.”
“The failure to deter Mr. Putin’s attack on Ukraine is more than a failure of the Biden administration. Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush must share the blame. This failure may prove to be even costlier than failing to prevent the 9/11 attacks, and President Biden’s place in history hangs on his ability to manage the consequences of this increasingly unspeakable and unpredictable war.”
Ivanka Trump, the daughter and senior White House adviser of former President Donald Trump, is set to testify before the House Jan. 6 committee on Tuesday, NBC News reports.
“Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), a longtime member of Congress who has served in the lower chamber since 1987, announced his retirement Tuesday in an emotional speech on the House floor,” The Hill reports.
“Upton was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.”
Mickey Kaus: “The Biden White House is famously leak-proof (in sharp contrast to Trump’s White House). This deprives the public of valuable information, such as who is pushing Biden into foolish stridency. But the worst effect is probably on the White House itself. For one thing, leaks of policy changes can be badly-needed trial balloons.”
“In general, if everybody knew who was pushing what policy—and who were the internal opponents—it would be easier for influential non-insiders to weigh in and steer policy in more sane directions.”
“When Democrat Stacey Abrams first ran for Georgia governor in 2018, her lackluster personal finances and a hefty bill from the IRS gave Republicans fodder to question how she could manage a state budget when she struggled with her own debts,” the AP reports.
“As she launches a second bid this year, that’s no longer an issue.”
“Abrams now says she’s worth $3.17 million, according to state disclosures filed in March. That’s compared with a net worth of $109,000 when she first ran four years ago.”
“January 6 select committee Chairman Bennie Thompson told reporters Monday that he believes it will not be necessary for the panel to issue a subpoena to former Vice President Mike Pence and that the committee has been able to glean enough information that his testimony may not be necessary,” CNN reports.
“Many political consultants and many White Houses have an exaggerated view of the extent to which messaging can counteract reality. But if you look at what’s dominating people’s minds right now, it’s inflation. Survey after survey confirms that. And inflation is very much a product of direct experience and especially repeated direct experience.”
— Former Clinton White House official Bill Galston, quoted by Politico.
“President Biden has called Vladimir Putin a ‘war criminal,’ and said Monday the Russian leader should face a trial over the alleged atrocities in Ukrainian city of Bucha,” Axios reports.
“While similar calls have echoed worldwide, Putin is unlikely to be held criminally accountable, at least as long as he remains in power.”
“I didn’t win the election.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by The Guardian, in a video interview with historians.
“Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, said that while Russia is refocusing offensive operations on eastern and southern Ukraine, Moscow will likely continue to strike the rest of the country ‘to cause terror,’” the New York Times reports,
“‘The next stage of this conflict may very well be protracted,’ he told reporters, and ‘will likely continue to include wanton and brazen attacks on civilian targets.’”
The US Treasury said it would halt Russia’s ability to make debt payments in dollars through American banks, bringing Moscow a step closer to a possible default on its obligations to international investors, the Financial Times reports.
CNN: “The move was meant to force Moscow to make the difficult decision of whether it would use dollars that it has access to for payments on its debt or for other purposes, including supporting its war effort… Russia faces a historic default if it chooses to not do so.”
Matt Mowers (R), a former Trump administration official now running for Congress in New Hampshire, voted twice during the 2016 primary election season, potentially violating federal voting law and leaving him at odds with the Republican Party’s intense focus on “election integrity,” the AP 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.
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— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
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— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
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