Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) slammed a Fox News reporter for asking if she had an affair with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY).
Said Boebert: “Fuck you, first of all!”
She added: “If you’re gonna bring me into this, like, the sexist stuff is like out of control. So there’s your clickbait that you were looking for. I don’t want to talk about anybody’s exes and the crazy sh*t that they do.”
CNN: “Republicans are still on track to muscle through a top party priority next week, delivering $70 billion in Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection funding. But even that measure had been at serious risk of collapse in recent weeks after Republicans revolted over Trump’s insistence for a $1.8 billion settlement fund that critics say is intended to reward his political supporters.”
“While Senate GOP leaders successfully quashed much of that dissent, the days of bitter wrangling exposed cracks in Trump’s base of support on Capitol Hill. There is now a growing chorus of Republicans — and not just the usual defectors — willing to defy him as they seek to rein in his pursuit of his agenda, ranging from projects like the White House ballroom and exacting political retribution on his enemies to his handling of the Iran war and other foreign policy issues.”
“The trend is only expected to accelerate as the November elections approach, with contentious fights ahead like Trump’s push to confirm his controversial expected pick to lead the Department of Justice.”
Semafor: “Progressive and centrist Democrats are remarkably aligned around their plan for using a potential House majority to investigate President Donald Trump: Pursue businesses that have cultivated his administration for backdoor oversight, and don’t hold back.”
“As outside advisory and legal firms prepare the private sector for a Democratic House takeover that still looks likely, despite the GOP’s aggressive redistricting, the target list may well grow beyond US-based companies. Foreign dealmaking by the Trump family and its allies, including in the Gulf, is also in line for Democratic scrutiny.”
“President Donald Trump’s push to rebrand the Pentagon as the Department of War won a victory late on Thursday when Republicans on a key committee voted to make the change permanent,” Politico reports.
“The House Armed Services Committee narrowly voted along party lines to codify the renaming of the Department of Defense, which Trump kicked off last fall, during marathon deliberations on its annual defense policy bill.”
NOTUS: “The House passed bipartisan legislation on Thursday leveling new economic sanctions on Russia and strengthening Ukraine’s defenses despite opposition from Republican leaders.”
“The measure passed by a vote of 226-195, with 18 Republicans and one independent joining Democrats in support. Coming a day after the House backed a measure to end the war with Iran, the Ukraine vote represented another challenge to President Donald Trump’s foreign policy approach.”
New York Times: “It now heads to the Senate, where Mr. Trump’s opposition has stopped similar attempts at new penalties on Russia and its allies. And even if it were to clear both chambers, it would likely be vetoed by the president, who has repeatedly balked at legislation that seeks to constrain his ability to negotiate on foreign policy matters.”
Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) accused Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) of advocating for the terrorist organization Hezbollah during remarks on the House floor Wednesday, Politico reports.
Said Miller: “You advocate for terrorists on a daily basis.”
Tlaib requested Miller’s remarks be taken down, and his comment was ultimately stricken.
Politico: “There’s a 2.4-million-square-foot ticking time bomb on Capitol Hill, and lawmakers are dithering over how to deal with it as anxieties rise over the massive costs and disruptions involved.”
“The Rayburn House Office Building has never undergone a full renovation since it opened in 1965, and as plans for a massive revamp of Congress’s largest office complex keep getting pushed off, key systems are routinely failing and expensive piecemeal repairs are weighing on the legislative branch budget.”
“The GOP-led House voted to restrict President Trump’s ability to continue the war against Iran without congressional approval, a rebuke to the White House and the latest sign that Republican lawmakers’ support for the war is eroding on Capitol Hill,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The measure passed 215-208, with four Republicans joining Democrats in support.”
New York Post: “Speaker Mike Johnson teased that he knows what is going on with mysteriously missing Rep. Tom Kean Jr., but will leave it to the congressman to divulge it.”
Said Johnson: “I do know what his health issue is, but he’s asked me not to disclose that, and I’m going to honor that.”
Politico: “Tuesday was supposed to be a voting day in the House, with members flying back to Washington to begin their workweek by passing a slate of bipartisan bills.”
“Instead the floor was largely deserted after Republican leaders pushed back the chamber’s first votes — further adding to a gaping divide between the House and Senate in how often lawmakers on each side of the Capitol are carrying out their most basic legislative duties.”
“Rep. Andrew Ogles (R-TN) is blaming his staff for a homophobic post made on his X account, as Republicans issue rare criticism of one of their member’s social media activity,” the Washington Post reports.
New York Post: “Embattled Rep. Max Miller, whose increasingly complicated reelection is critical to the GOP holding the House, shared secret recordings he captured of his ex-wife to The Post as he tries to fend off allegations that he abused her and that he’s an unfit parent for their two-year-old.”
Said Miller: “The audio is key. She doesn’t know we have that audio. She doesn’t know that we have her admitting to her being bipolar.”
The New York Times has been looking for Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) — who has been missing from the Capitol for three months — by scouring 911 calls, visiting his vacation homes, checking with local hospitals and making dozens and dozens of phone calls.
They couldn’t find him.
CNN: Why ‘Tom Kean absent’ is trending.
The House Ethics Committee is investigating Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) over allegations of sexual misconduct, CNN reports.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday that Democrats are not focused on impeaching President Donald Trump if they regain a majority next Congress, at least “at this moment,” CNBC reports.
President Trump endorsed Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) — who hasn’t been seen in Washington, D.C. for three months — but insisted Kean has been “working tirelessly” on behalf of his agenda, the New York Times reports.
Associated Press: “Now Kean has missed more than 100 votes in Congress, and he has not been spotted in Washington or in his district. It is a political mystery with potentially national consequences: Kean represents a district that is among Democrats’ top targets as they try to retake control of Congress.”
“Kean’s office insists he is still running for reelection. He is not facing any challengers in Tuesday’s primary while several Democrats are running for their party’s nomination.”
Politico: “Speaker Mike Johnson is with President Donald Trump at the White House Tuesday morning, meeting about the stuck GOP immigration enforcement bill.”
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.
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