“Efforts to remove Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards from office because of complaints about his coronavirus restrictions and mask mandate have failed,” the Associated Press reports.
“The Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office said Friday that all parishes but one have completed counting signatures on a petition seeking to recall the Democratic governor, and the numbers have fallen far below what is needed to force a recall election.”
Punchbowl News: “At some point, the White House will lay out the big package it wants passed: A large scale infrastructure bill with a tax hike — probably corporate, but they’ll pitch individual-rate increases too — to pay for it.”
“But in the interim — meaning throughout the spring and summer — the White House plans to work with Congress to try to pass smaller pieces of legislation.”
“The idea is to create a political drumbeat for infrastructure and public-works related legislation bookended by the announcement of the large-scale bill at the front end and its passage on the back end — with a bunch of incremental bills in between.”
“When incumbent Democrat José Javier Rodríguez lost his Florida state senate seat to Republican challenger Ileana Garcia by just 32 votes in November, the losing party and investigators began asking questions about a suspicious third candidate,” the Washington Post reports.
“Now, the mysterious candidate and a former Republican state senator are facing felony charges for crimes stemming from a plot to ‘confuse voters and siphon votes from the incumbent,’ police said in an affidavit filed this week.”
A former lobbyist told the Washington Post that Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), who is weighing a challenge to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), sexually harassed her.
“Reed, who has described combating sexual violence and harassment as one of his priorities in Congress, recently argued that Cuomo should be impeached.”
“A Trump administration official who’s been charged with playing a major role in the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol had a history of praising a military dictatorship that seized power in a coup—and close family ties to that junta,” Vice News reports.
“Federico ‘Freddie’ Klein, a former mid-level political appointee at the State Department who sits in jail awaiting a trial for his role in the riots, repeatedly praised the Argentinian military junta of the late 1970s and early 1980s while working at the State Department.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she has been temporarily suspended from Twitter for violating the platform’s rules.
The Daily Beast: “Dozens of young White House staffers have been suspended, asked to resign, or placed in a remote work program due to past marijuana use, frustrating staffers who were pleased by initial indications from the Biden administration that recreational use of cannabis would not be immediately disqualifying for would-be personnel, according to three people familiar with the situation.”
Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) will work with state legislators to accept and spend the nearly $1.2 billion in discretionary funding his state will receive from the American Relief Plan, the Idaho Statesmen reports.
Said Little: “The plan is being mortgaged on our children and grandchildren’s future. They will shoulder the burden to pay off this massive debt. All that said, rejecting the funds is not the right thing to do for Idaho.”
Twitter temporarily restricted Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel’s (R) account for violating the social media platform’s rules on “hateful conduct,” the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Mandel created a poll earlier this week about which type of “illegals” would commit more crimes.
“Washington Post journalists Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta will be out June 29 with Nightmare Scenario, a scoopy narrative of President Trump’s chaotic response to the pandemic,” Axios reports.
The book will “reveal the numerous times officials tried to dissuade Trump from following his worst impulses… And they show how the petty backstabbing and rivalries amongst cabinet members, staff, and aides, created a toxic cycle of blame, sycophancy, and political pressure.”
“The ex-wife of a Trump Organization executive has spoken ‘multiple times’ with investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, as the probe into Donald Trump’s financial dealings intensifies,” NBC News reports.
“Jennifer Weisselberg said it appears investigators have been seeking information related to the role of Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer and the father of her ex-husband.”
“Allan Weisselberg, whose relationship with Trump spans decades, is likely the one person outside of the family who has the most complete understanding of the Trump Organization’s inner financial workings.”
Axios: “The immediate and intense political fallout over the insurrection pushed scores of companies to announce a pause or end to political donations. New numbers suggest an even larger chilling effect, with companies that had been quiet publicly also forgoing donations.”
“President Biden is reviewing a list of finalists as he prepares to nominate a series of ambassadors to key embassy postings,” Axios reports.
“Biden officials have been tempering expectations among his big-dollar donors, suggesting the president will nominate fewer of them to coveted positions. Wealthy donors are getting nervous they may have already been passed over.”
“Biden will likely draw on so-called political ambassadors — including allies and financial backers — for roughly 30% of the openings.”
Associated Press: “In unusually pointed public remarks for a staid diplomatic meeting, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi took aim at each other’s country’s policies at the start of two days of talks in Alaska. The contentious tone of their public comments suggested the private discussions would be even more rocky.”
A CBS News reporter took video on her cell phone as US television cameras were being ushered out just as tensions were rising in the room.
Bloomberg: Fiery start to U.S.-China talks shows acrimony is here to stay.
Associated Press: “The House has dismissed a Republican attempt to remove California Rep. Eric Swalwell from the House intelligence panel over his contact more than six years ago with a suspected Chinese spy who targeted politicians in the United States. Democrats scuttled the effort from House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, 218-200, after he forced a vote.”
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.