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Can House Republicans Clear a Rule?

September 23, 2024 at 1:27 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Punchbowl News: “Republican leaders have doubts that the panel will be able to pass a rule allowing the House to consider the funding bill under a simple majority vote.”

“The Rules Committee has nine Republicans and four Democrats. Among those nine Republicans are three conservative hardliners: Reps. Ralph Norman, Chip Roy and Thomas Massie. The trio has the power to block any rule if they side with Democrats.”

“Norman famously hates CRs and told us last week he wouldn’t back a three-month stopgap bill. Roy’s SAVE Act was twinned to a six-month CR and failed on the floor last week. And Massie loathes Speaker Mike Johnson and seems to relish criticizing him publicly.”

Republican Governors Pull Plug on North Carolina

September 23, 2024 at 1:18 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Republican Governors Association has no plans to commit additional spending in the North Carolina gubernatorial race, National Review reports.

Said a spokesperson: “We don’t comment on internal strategy or investment decisions, but we can confirm what’s public — our current media buy in North Carolina expires tomorrow, and no further placements have been made.”

RFK Jr. Wants His Name Put Back on New York Ballot

September 23, 2024 at 1:10 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked the Supreme Court for an emergency intervention to restore his name on New York’s presidential ballot, The Hill reports.

Melania Trump Agrees to Interview

September 23, 2024 at 12:25 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Melania Trump will sit down with Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt for an interview to air on Thursday,” Deadline reports.

“This will be the former first lady’s first interview in more than two years, per Fox News. She will discuss her new book, Melania, as well as the presidential campaign and the assassination attempts on her husband’s life.”

Mark Robinson Is Continuing to Campaign

September 23, 2024 at 12:20 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Mark Robinson returned to the campaign trail on Monday in North Carolina, insisting that he will remain in the governor’s race even after most of his staff resigned following a CNN report linking him to numerous disturbing comments on a pornographic website,” the New York Times reports.

Woman Charged with Murder After Losing Her Pregnancy

September 23, 2024 at 12:16 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A South Carolina woman had a miscarriage and was charged with murder, a direct consequence of the Republican abortion ban in the state, CNN reports.

A Nudge

September 23, 2024 at 12:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard

You may have been meaning to become a Political Wire member but haven’t gotten around to it. I totally get it… life gets busy.

So consider this a nudge.

The full Political Wire experience includes exclusive analysis, a trending news page, a weekly news quiz, bonus newsletters like Inside Elections, the Trial Balloon podcast and no advertising.

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Melania Trump Was Paid to Attend Political Event

September 23, 2024 at 11:40 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Melania Trump has barely been seen on the campaign trail this year. One of the few times she has appeared at a political event, she’s received a six-figure paycheck – a highly unusual move for the spouse of a candidate,” CNN reports.

“The former first lady spoke at two political fundraisers for the Log Cabin Republicans this year, and she was paid $237,500 for an April event, according to former President Donald Trump’s latest financial disclosure form. The payment was listed as a ‘speaking engagement.'”

“But it’s a mystery who actually cut the check: Charles Moran, president of the Log Cabin Republicans, told CNN earlier this month the group did not put up the money for her to speak.”

J.D. Vance Turns to Tom Emmer for Debate Prep

September 23, 2024 at 11:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Sen. J.D. Vance has recruited Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) to help prepare for his debate next week with Gov. Tim Walz, enlisting a Minnesota Republican to play the role of a Minnesota Democrat,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Vance has spent much of the past month reviewing debate plans and strategies with his team to prepare for his matchup with Mr. Walz.”

NBC News: Vance preps for VP debate with help from his wife.

Wrong Georgia

September 23, 2024 at 11:23 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Donald Trump’s campaign launched targeted digital ads on social media over the weekend focusing on local Republicans with a beautiful backdrop of an endless mountain range in Georgia,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“The only problem: It was the wrong Georgia.”

“Online sleuths linked the image to the country of Georgia, not our humble state.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Ban Communications Devices

September 23, 2024 at 11:22 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps has ordered all members to stop using any type of communication devices after thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by its Hezbollah allies in Lebanon blew up in deadly attacks last week,” Reuters reports.

Murder and Violent Crime Dropped Last Year

September 23, 2024 at 11:21 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Crime, including serious violent incidents like murder and rape, dropped nationally from 2022 to 2023, according to new data released by the FBI on Monday,” NBC News reports.

“Preliminary numbers showed that 2024 crime numbers were also dropping for the early part of this year, continuing a trend of crime easing as America has come out of the pandemic.”

Texas Senate Race Remains Very Close

September 23, 2024 at 11:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation poll in Texas finds Ted Cruz (R) just ahead of Colin Allred (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 48% to 45%.

Harris Leads in Minnesota

September 23, 2024 at 11:04 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Minneapolis Star Tribune poll in Minnesota finds Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump among likely voters, 48% to 43%.

Seven percent of respondents said they remain undecided, while fewer than 2% of those polled said they would vote for a third-party candidate.

Trump Media Shares Keep Falling

September 23, 2024 at 11:02 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Shares of Trump Media on Monday sank to their lowest price in over a year, days after majority owner Donald Trump and other company insiders got the green light to start selling their stakes in the Truth Social maker,” CNBC reports.

How Elon Musk Rigged Twitter

September 23, 2024 at 10:58 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New Statesman: “What really concerned Musk, however, was that people weren’t retweeting him enough. Teams of engineers were assigned to solve the problem of reduced engagement with Musk’s tweets. Matters came to a head during the 2023 Super Bowl, when he obsessed over the fact that a tweet by Joe Biden received several times as many likes as his own.”

“Nobody dared suggest that the world just found their boss easy to ignore. Engineers were summoned from their Super Bowl parties to headquarters to fix the problem, which they did with a new line of code: ‘author_is_elon’, a tag that forced everyone to pay even more attention to the richest man in the world.”

Biden Spending Climate Cash Fast

September 23, 2024 at 10:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Former President Donald Trump has said he would cancel all unspent funds from President Joe Biden’s signature climate law if he wins the presidential election on Nov. 5,” Reuters reports.

“But the vast majority of grants will be spent by the time a new president takes office in January, and targeting what remains would be a massive legal challenge.”

Kamala Harris Opens Up Widest Lead Yet in Wisconsin

September 23, 2024 at 9:41 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Wisconsin Watch/MassINC poll in Wisconsin finds Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump, 53% to 46%, her largest lead in recent polling from this crucial swing state and nearly outside the survey’s +/-3.8% margin of error.

In a multi-candidate race, Harris received 51% support to Trump’s 45%.

In the U.S. Senate race, Tammy Baldwin (D) leads challenger Eric Hovde (R), 52% to 44%.