Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) made a pretty odd prediction that there would be a Supreme Court vacancy shortly after Neil Gorsuch’s likely confirmation to the existing one, the Washington Post reports.
Said Cruz: “I think we’ll have another Supreme Court vacancy this summer. If that happens, as much as the left is crazy now, Democrats will go full Armageddon.”
President Trump celebrated what he called “a military operation” to round up and deport undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes or caused violence in the United States, the Washington Post reports.
Said Trump: “We’re getting gang members out, we’re getting drug lords out, we’re getting really bad dudes out of this country — and at a rate that nobody’s ever seen before.”
“National Democrats are deploying resources to Georgia in hopes that the special election to replace Tom Price becomes a referendum on Donald Trump,” the Washington Post reports.
“While 11 Republicans have jumped into the race and are already duking it out, Democrats have mostly coalesced behind a former congressional aide named Jon Ossoff. It’s a jungle primary, which means that all the candidates are going to appear on the same ballot on April 18. The top two finishers will then face off in a June 20 runoff. Democrats hope the contenders in the crowded GOP field beat each other up and try to outdo one another in pledging loyalty to Trump.”
NPR: “Will the election of Donald Trump, who once boasted of grabbing women by the genitalia and has a history of sexist remarks, create a wave of female candidates at all levels of government in the coming years?”
“Early signs from the groups that work with women considering a bid for office suggest a level of intense interest not seen in at least a quarter century.”
In defending an expensive wall on the Mexican border, Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) told CNN that nuclear bombs could be hidden inside bales of marijuana smuggled into the United States.
Said Franks: “I can suggest to you that there are national security implications here for a porous border. We sometimes used to make the point that if someone wanted to smuggle in a dangerous weapon, even a nuclear weapon, into America, how would they do it? And the suggestion was made, well, we’ll simple hide it in a bale of marijuana.”
He added: “And so, the implications of a porous border have national security dimensions that are very significant and that bear a lot of consideration when we talk about costs.”
Former House Speaker John Boehner predicted a full repeal and replace of Obamacare is “not going to happen” and is just “happy talk,” Politico reports.
“Instead, he said changes to former President Obama’s signature legislative achievement would likely be relatively modest.”
Said Boehner: “Republicans never ever agree on health care…. Most of the framework of the Affordable Care Act … that’s going to be there.”
Rick Klein and Shushannah Walshe: “Just less than a year ago, Donald Trump decided to skip CPAC – a decision the organization said he would come to regret, since it ‘sends a clear message to conservatives.’ The Trump campaign said he would be back in 2017, ‘hopefully as President of the United States.’ (How many in the room in 2016 thought that would really happen?) Now comes this year’s CPAC, with Vice President Mike Pence and President Trump both in the speakers’ lineup.”
“That’s just a hint of the extent to which the conservative movement has been adopted and co-opted by Team Trump. Conservatives – even those who insisted Trump was never one of them – have, for the most part, gone along with it. Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon, and Kellyanne Conway have all been CPAC fixtures in the past. Now they will be CPAC rock stars, appearing on behalf of the leader of the conservative movement, the man in whose administration they serve.”
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin “laid out ambitious goals to secure a U.S. tax-code overhaul by August and to deliver economic growth at rates not seen in more than a decade,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Mr. Mnuchin said the administration was working with House and Senate Republicans to smooth over differences among them on tax policy, with the aim of passing major legislation before Congress leaves for its August recess. He added, ‘that’s an ambitious timeline. It could slip to later in the year.'”
Playbook: “This is the most ambitious timeline envisioned by the biggest optimists on Capitol Hill. Congress isn’t planning to turn its focus to tax reform until the summer, and this deal won’t get done in a few months — mark our words. The 1986 tax reform bill was introduced in December of 1985 and didn’t get to Ronald Reagan’s desk until October of 1986. That was a much less partisan time, a simpler business climate and a world without Twitter and cable television.”
First Read: “As DNC members travel to Atlanta to choose the party’s next chair on Saturday, there’s an elephant in the room that no one is talking about it — but that everyone is thinking about: Keith Ellison’s Muslim faith.”
“Don’t get us wrong, this isn’t an issue among the 447 DNC members. As we’ve written, many/most voting members would be happy with either Ellison or Tom Perez. But some outside the party seem to be goading Democrats to pick Ellison, as David Duke did earlier this month.”
Politico: “After a meatloaf lunch at the White House last Tuesday, President Donald Trump made New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie an intriguing offer: Would he like to be secretary of labor? Christie said no, according to four people close to Trump who were briefed on the conversation, which was just the latest in a series of nudges Trump has given Christie about joining him in Washington.”
“Christie has told Trump he is not interested and instead plans to join the private sector after he leaves Trenton next year.”
Playbook sees Trump’s decision to withdraw protections for transgender students as a window into his presidency.
“First, the power resides at the White House. Trump isn’t showing deference to his Cabinet picks, as some in Washington had hoped he would. Two, Trump is continuing to deliver for his base. The order, which puts him squarely in the middle of the culture wars, will be extremely popular on the right, particularly among evangelicals who came out in big numbers for Trump. It’s also another example of Trump not caring about expanding his coalition.”
“Three, Trump is using precious political capital to take on issues Congressional Republicans would prefer he ignore. They’d rather him use his juice to pass tax reform, or rewrite health care laws. As Republicans across the country continue to face screaming constituents at town halls, Trump’s focus on transgender bathrooms doesn’t give them anything to say to people worried about losing their health care.”
A new Economist/YouGov poll finds 49% of Americans view President Trump’s White House “in chaos” as compared to just 24% who see it as a “finely-tuned machine” and 26% who are not sure.
“Ever since Republicans got down to the business of repealing the Affordable Care Act, the Senate has been singled out as the likely problem. Any plan that could zoom through the House would hit roadblocks among Senate Republicans, many of whom have resisted a wholesale repeal of the health law without a robust replacement plan,” the New York Times reports.
“But after weeks of loud protests, boisterous town hall meetings and scores of quieter meetings with health care professionals, patients, caregivers and hospital managers in their districts, it is becoming increasingly likely that a consensus in the House may be just as hard to reach.”
“A purported cyber hack of the daughter of political consultant Paul Manafort suggests that he was the victim of a blackmail attempt while he was serving as Donald Trump’s presidential campaign chairman last summer,” Politico reports.
“The undated communications, which are allegedly from the iPhone of Manafort’s daughter, include a text that appears to come from a Ukrainian parliamentarian named Serhiy Leshchenko, seeking to reach her father, in which he claims to have politically damaging information about both Manafort and Trump.”
New York Times: “Mr. Trump has surrounded himself with traditional small-government conservatives bent on cutting back or eliminating many of the programs he has championed. Many of his aides and cabinet members have expressed views that are fundamentally opposed to those he campaigned on.”
“The disparity between Mr. Trump’s rhetoric and his appointments has cheered many Republicans and left Democrats fearing that he will not only renege on his promises to protect the government’s largest entitlement programs but that he will also slash programs he did not mention on the campaign trail that offer food, housing and child care support for the poor.”
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.