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.
Europe to Propose Fresh Sanctions on Russia
“The European Commission is set to propose broad new sanctions on Russia on Tuesday, European officials said, including a ban on imports of Russian coal, slashing the access of Russian road and shipping goods carriers into the bloc, targeting oligarchs and their families and blocking some machinery exports,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The measures, which will need backing from the bloc’s 27 member states, come after reports this weekend from Ukraine of potential war crimes against civilians by Russian forces, which has galvanized a push for tougher European measures against the Kremlin.”
Trump’s Big Lie Turns Local Elections Toxic
“For the second time since Election Day 2020, uniformed police officers will be on duty when ballot counting begins in Green Bay’s local elections,” Politico reports.
“It’s the result of tension building for over a year in the city, which has become ground zero for election conspiracy theories in a battleground state still consumed by the last presidential race. Furor that started over the use of private funds to help a cash-strapped local government run the 2020 election soon morphed into something darker than normal political disagreement, including a report of a ‘suspicious person’ who improperly accessed the clerk’s office on Election Day 2020.”
“Now, Green Bay’s nonpartisan city council races — traditionally quiet affairs that focus on taxes and roads — feature ads from a GOP super PAC questioning whether the city’s elections are legitimate.”
Why Biden’s Base Is In Distress
Playbook previews new focus group research to find out in real time how Americans are processing events in 2022:
- A preoccupation with inflation and crime.
- Exhaustion with pandemic restrictions.
- Cynicism about politics.
- Deep frustration that President Joe Biden and Democrats have failed to deliver on their early promises.
- Sympathy for Ukraine mixed with a lack of enthusiasm for Biden spending too much time and money on the issue.
- Ambiguity about how important Jan. 6 should be for Democrats in the midterms.
“These sentiments are captured in recent polling: Biden’s decline in approval from Black voters and millennials has been well documented, as of course has the rise in importance of inflation, crime and pandemic fatigue.”
“But watching the three-and-a-half hours of conversations, you notice a yawning gap between what Democrats here in D.C. are saying and what their most loyal voters are experiencing outside the Beltway.”
Biden Throws Obamacare a Lifeline
“President Biden, joined by former President Obama, on Tuesday will announce regulatory changes to Affordable Care Act rules that could make health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans,” Axios reports.
“The announcement comes amid significant doubt about whether Congress will be able to prevent millions of current ACA enrollees from seeing large premium hikes next year — or from losing their insurance altogether.”
Washington Post: Obama’s return to the White House after a 5-year absence.
Zelensky Says More Than 300 Ukrainians Tortured
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an overnight address that more than 300 people had been tortured and killed in the Bucha massacre, Axios reports.
Greene Calls Three GOP Senators ‘Pro-Pedophile’
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) used her congressional account to tweet the baseless accusation that Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Mitt Romney (R-UT) are “pro-pedophile” because they said will vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
Jackson Will Still Have to Wait for Breyer to Leave
“For Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, taking her seat on the Supreme Court will be a study in hurry up and wait,” USA Today reports.
“Assuming President Joe Biden’s nominee to the nation’s highest court is confirmed by the Senate this week, Jackson will have to sit tight for nearly three months for her spot on the bench to open up – an unusually long delay that may have implications for public perceptions of the court, her ascension to it and a number of high-profile cases.”
Six Candidates Seek House Seat That Will Soon Vanish
“California Democrats had long dreamed of ousting former Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, whose loyalty to former President Donald Trump made him a lightning rod in the deep-blue state,” CNN reports.
“But the six contenders — four Republicans and two Democrats — vying to fill his vacant seat in Tuesday’s special election may end up being little more than a footnote to his legacy as they compete for a Central Valley district that is vanishing under California’s new congressional map.”
Red States Have Higher Murder Rates Than Blue Ones
“Republican politicians routinely claim that cities run by Democrats have been experiencing crime waves caused by failed governance, but a new study shows murder rates are actually higher in states and cities controlled by Republicans,” Yahoo News reports.
“The study found that murder rates in the 25 states Donald Trump carried in 2020 are 40% higher overall than in the states Joe Biden won.”
U.S. Tested Hypersonic Missile
“The US successfully tested a hypersonic missile in mid-March but kept it quiet for two weeks to avoid escalating tensions with Russia as President Joe Biden was about to travel to Europe,” CNN reports.
Biden to Host Wedding Reception at White House
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will host a wedding reception at the White House this November for their eldest granddaughter, Naomi Biden, CNN reports.
Washington Post: “Since the early 1800s, there have been 18 documented weddings at the White House that have been hosted by a sitting president or first lady… Recent weddings include those of Lynda Bird Johnson, who was married in the East Room in 1967, and Tricia Nixon, who was married in the Rose Garden in 1971.”
Hogan Approves New Maryland Congressional Map
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signed into law a new congressional map drawn by Democrats, a little more than a week after a judge called their previous effort an “extreme gerrymander” and threw it out, the New York Times reports.
The new map will most likely result in a congressional delegation that will look a lot like the current one.
Murkowski and Romney Will Back Jackson
Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Mitt Romney (R-UT) announced that they will vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making them the second and third Republicans to confirm their vote for President Joe Biden’s court nomination, the Washington Post reports.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said last week that she would also vote to confirm Jackson.
Colorado Guarantees Abortion Rights
“Abortion access without government interference is now guaranteed in Colorado law after Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed a bill enshrining that right Monday,” the Denver Post reports.
“The bill passed out of the Colorado legislature last month on a party-line vote, with Democrats, who are in control of both chambers, voting in favor of the bill. Each hearing on the bill garnered hours of debate and heavy Republican opposition.”
CDC Announces Plans to Revamp Agency
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky announced plans Monday to revamp the agency that has come under blistering criticism for its performance leading the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying, “it is time to step back and strategically position CDC to support the future of public health,” the Washington Post reports.
Senate Judiciary Deadlocks on Jackson Nomination
“A Senate panel deadlocked on Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court, forcing a full Senate vote tonight that is expected to move the nomination forward,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Such ties in committee are rare, in part because the majority party usually holds more seats on the committee than the minority. But the Senate is divided 50-50 between both parties, with Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tiebreaking vote. A power-sharing agreement reached last year between Senate leaders gave Republicans an equal number of seats to Democrats on every committee, while Democrats hold the chairmanships.”
Washington Post: “As the Senate heads into the final week of Jackson’s confirmation battle, the last-minute deliberations of a handful of GOP senators are being watched closely to see whether her support will grow beyond one Republican.”
