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Advertisers Revolt at Fox News
“The O’Reilly Factor” is facing a growing advertiser revolt, as 21 companies have pulled their commercials from the show after a report about five settlements with women who alleged sexual harassment or verbal abuse by host Bill O’Reilly, CNN reports.
Sara Fischer: Advertisers are the new media watchdog.
Clinton Won’t Return to Family Foundation
Hillary Clinton “has all but ruled out returning to her family’s foundation,” The Hill reports.
“The former Democratic presidential nominee has indicated to confidants and associates that she more than likely won’t be returning to the Clinton Foundation, which drew headlines in the 2016 election cycle for possible conflicts of interest.”
Transition Plan Had Obamacare Repealed in 36 Days
Washington Post: “The legislative timetable was hugely ambitious. One transition document, for example, called for Congress to complete work on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act by Feb. 24, or Day 36 of the administration. The GOP health-care bill wasn’t even introduced by that date and was pulled from a House vote last month after meeting fierce resistance, even from many Republicans.”
Quote of the Day
“If we’re not helping people, we should go the fuck home.”
— Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), quoted by New York Magazine.
Effort to Revive Trumpcare Sputters
David Nather: “The sticking points are the same now as they’ve been all week: Conservatives want to get rid of more Obamacare insurance regulations, including the ones dealing with pre-existing conditions, and other Republicans really don’t want to do that.”
“This has been largely a White House-driven show, and House Republican leaders started to realize early yesterday that the emerging compromise probably would have lost more votes than it gained.”
Will the Filibuster on Legislation Go Next?
“Senate Republicans are preparing to abolish the final vestige of power that the minority has to block presidential nominations, worrying many senators in both parties that the final and biggest domino — the power to filibuster legislation — will be next,” the New York Times reports.
“In recent years, as partisanship has escalated, the Senate has required a 60-vote majority for almost any controversial legislation to overcome a filibuster. Gone, for the most part, are bipartisan quorums that used to pass large and complex laws with simple majorities.”
“But as both parties have moved to do what was once unthinkable — eliminating the filibuster for judicial and cabinet nominees, known as the nuclear option — senators are now forced to consider if the final step could be in the offing, one that would fundamentally alter the character of the Senate and make it indistinguishable from the House in a crucial way.”
Voters Do Not Want a Government Shutdown
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds that 65% of voters say that Congress should “take all necessary steps to avoid a government shutdown,” a warning sign for lawmakers who might be toying with the idea of holding up funding to influence policy. Just 17% of registered voters say they could stomach a shutdown “if it helps them achieve their policy goals.”
“Those are sobering numbers for members of Congress, who leave town Friday for two weeks having done absolutely nothing to avoid a shutdown when the money to fund government operations runs out at the end of the month.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“If being complicit is wanting to, is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact then I’m complicit. I don’t know that the critics who may say that of me, if they found themselves in this very unique and unprecedented situation that I am now in, would do any differently than I am doing.”
— Ivanka Trump, in an interview with CBS News.
The Case for Impeachment
In the mail: The Case for Impeachment by Allan J. Lichtman.
“Professor Lichtman has correctly predicted every Presidential election since 1984, including the election of 2016. Now, he is focusing on the 45th President of the United States, demonstrating his view that it is not a question of if President Trump will be impeached, but a question of when.“
The GOP Owns the Health Care System
A new Kaiser Health tracking poll finds that 61% of Americans believe that President Trump and Republicans in Congress are responsible for the country’s health care system, while just 31% think Democrats are responsible because they originally passed the law.
Most Americans Now Want Obamacare to Stay
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Trump Weighed Giving Fox News Exclusive to Inauguration
From a New York Times profile on CNN President Jeff Zucker:
Shortly before Trump was sworn in, Zucker heard that he was considering giving Fox News exclusive rights to televise the inauguration and that Kushner was in the process of brokering a deal with Rupert Murdoch, whom Kushner once courted as a mentor. Zucker called Trump. “Bottom line is that I said, ‘This is crazy,’ ” Zucker recalls. “You’re just going to give your inaugural coverage to your base of support? It makes no sense.”
Ossoff Below 50% Threshold to Avoid Runoff
A new SurveyUSA poll finds Jon Ossoff (D) grabs 43% of likely voters. Republicans Karen Handel (15%), Bob Gray (14%), and Dan Moody (7%) round out the top four. All other candidates combined make up 15%, and an additional 7% are undecided.
Right now, Ossoff polls below the 50% needed to avoid a runoff.
Trumpcare Revival Talks Falling Apart
“Attempts to reach a deal this week on health care are unraveling fast, with conservatives already blaming House Speaker Paul Ryan for blocking the White House bill, and leadership sources saying that’s nonsense and that the Freedom Caucus is making unreasonable demands that are losing net votes. It’s a bad sign for Republicans ahead of Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to the Capitol tonight,” Axios reports.
Said a senior Republican source: “While we haven’t picked up any votes yet, this concept is already showing signs of losing a ton of them.”
“Where the plan is heading will potentially lose more votes than it picks up. The Freedom Caucus, they say, is moving the goal posts again and trying to shift blame.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Nepotism is kind of a factor of life… We might be here because of nepotism, but we’re not still here because of nepotism. You know, if we didn’t do a good job, if we weren’t competent, believe me, we wouldn’t be in this spot.”
— Eric Trump, in an interview with Forbes.
Ex-Trump Adviser Confirms Contact with Russian Spy
“Carter Page, who served briefly as a foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, made an appearance in a federal espionage case several years ago because he communicated with a Russian intelligence agent under surveillance by the FBI,” the Washington Post reports.
In a statement, Page “confirmed his role in the 2015 Justice Department spy case, adding another twist to the still unfolding story of Trump’s peculiar and expanding ties to people connected to Russia.”
“Page said he assisted U.S. prosecutors in their case against Evgeny Buryakov, an undercover Kremlin agent posing then as a bank executive in New York. Buryakov was convicted of espionage and released from federal prison just last week, a few months short of completing a 30-month sentence. Buryakov agreed to be immediately deported to Russia.”
FBI Creates Unit to Coordinate Trump-Russia Probe
“The FBI is planning to create a special section based at its Washington headquarters to co-ordinate its investigation of Russian activities designed to influence the 2016 presidential election,” the Financial Times reports.
“The move, a sign of how seriously the bureau is taking allegations of Russian meddling in American politics, is also aimed at giving FBI director James Comey greater visibility into the investigation’s granular details.”
Said one FBI agent: “It’s meant to surge resources.”
