Susan Wright (R), the widow of the late Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX), announced she will run for her husband’s vacant seat in Texas’s 6th Congressional District.
Murkowski Still Undecided on Neera Tanden
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said that she hasn’t made a decision on Neera Tanden’s nomination, leaving President Biden’s pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget stuck in limbo, The Hill reports.
Said Murkowski: “I saw that they pulled her from committee today, so it looks like I’ve got more time to be thinking about things.”
Stephanie Murphy Weighs Challenge to Rubio
“Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) is seriously considering a bid to unseat Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) 2022 reelection, announcing Wednesday that she’s launching a statewide listening tour and has hired a top Democratic operative to manage the effort,” Politico reports.
“Murphy, 42, has been elected three times to one of Florida’s most competitive congressional districts in Orlando, and first won the seat by knocking out 12-term incumbent GOP Rep. John Mica when few thought she could. It was a giant-killer act that Democrats hope she can repeat if she takes on Rubio, widely seen as a hard-to-beat incumbent.”
Quote of the Day
“I didn’t vote to overturn an election. And I will not be lectured by people who did about partisanship.”
— Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) in a confrontation with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) during today’s House Oversight Committee hearing.
Midterms Are Referendum on the Incumbent Party
Amy Walter: “Donald Trump has been such a constant in our lives for the last four years that’s it’s hard to imagine our politics without him. Moreover, we’ve never seen a party, its voters and its elected leaders continue to enthusiastically embrace a candidate who lost re-election.”
“But, it’s also true that it is incredibly early to declare that he will continue to cast a defining shadow over the next election. Or even the next year. Democrats are in charge now. And, that means that their success—or failures—will be on the ballot in 2022.”
Repair Costs from Capitol Attacks Already at $30 Million
NPR: “The cost of repairing damages from the attack on the U.S. Capitol and related security expenses have already topped $30 million and will keep rising, Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton told lawmakers on Wednesday.”
Manchin Will Support Deb Haaland for Interior
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced he will support the nomination of Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM) to lead the Interior department, likely paving the way for her confirmation.
Biden to Nominate Three to Postal Board
“President Biden will nominate a former U.S. Postal Service executive, a leading voting rights advocate and a former postal union leader to the mail service’s governing board,” the Washington Post reports.
“If confirmed, the nominees would give Democrats a majority on the nine-member board of governors, with potentially enough votes to oust Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.”
Virginia GOP Never Asked to Use Liberty Parking Lot
Virginia Republicans voted last night to hold a drive-through convention at Liberty University to nominate their 2021 statewide candidates, but according to the Lynchburg News & Advance, they didn’t get Liberty’s permission to use their parking lot first, sowing even further confusion over how Republicans will pick their nominee.
Rebekah Mercer Orchestrates Parler’s Return
Washington Post: “When social media website Parler’s founding CEO John Matze was pushed out last month, it was at the direction of a quiet but powerful political megadonor backing the right-leaning site. Rebekah Mercer … increasingly pulls the strings at the company.”
“Now Mercer, who is credited with helping get Donald Trump elected president in 2016, is working to revive the site. … It’s the latest in a long line of maneuvers by the Mercer family to create an alternative media industry that pushes a version of the news that fits with their right-wing, populist political agenda — while keeping a low profile themselves.”
Docuseries Says Jim Jordan Ignored Abuse Claims
“George Clooney is producing a docuseries about the decades-long sexual abuse scandal in the athletic department at Ohio State University, where Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) was once an assistant coach of the wrestling team,” Mediaite reports.
Steve Bannon Investigation Gains Steam
“The Manhattan district attorney’s office has subpoenaed financial records related to Steve Bannon’s crowd-funding border-wall effort, signaling that its criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s chief strategist is advancing,” CNN reports.
“Prosecutors sent the subpoenas after Trump pardoned Bannon in late January for federal conspiracy crimes tied to the southern border-wall project, making Bannon among the Trump world figures — including the former president — subjects of criminal investigations by Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance.”
Don Jr. Deposed In Inaugural Funds Lawsuit
Donald Trump Jr. was deposed as part of the Washington, DC, attorney general’s lawsuit alleging the misuse of Trump inaugural funds, CNN reports.
Grassley Punts on Re-Election Decision
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said he expects to make a decision about whether to seek re-election “sometime in September, October or November’ of this year, the Des Moines Register reports.
Said Grassley: “That’s plenty of time to make up my mind. And in the meantime, I’ve got a job working for Iowans. I love my work. I’m working hard.”
Earlier this month, Grassley said a decision would be coming within “several weeks.”
Democrats to Research ‘Why the Polling Sucked”
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), the chairman of the House Democratic campaign arm, said he’s doing a deep dive into the party’s election failures in 2020, including a look at “why the polling sucked,” The Hill reports.
“Maloney said the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has commissioned a report examining why the party lost more than a dozen House seats over the course of an election in which they won the White House and a majority in the Senate.”
More Americans Identifying as LGBT
Gallup: “Gallup’s latest update on lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender identification finds 5.6% of U.S. adults identifying as LGBT. The current estimate is up from 4.5% in Gallup’s previous update based on 2017 data.”
The Underticket Races to Watch
Politico: “Secretaries of state will be on the ballot in five of the 10 closest presidential battlegrounds next year.”
Capitol Hill Staff Doesn’t Reflect Diversity Back Home
Politico: “Despite efforts to diversify the Hill over the past several years, the racial makeup of House and Senate staffs don’t align with their districts and voting bases. Among top-level staffers, the lack of diversity is most striking: there are only two Black chiefs of staff in the Senate and only four Latinos.”
