President Trump congratulated Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for “doing the right thing” by backing the Republican-led bill to avert a government shutdown, a choice that’s put the New York Democrat at odds with many in his party, Politico reports.
Said Trump: “Again, really good and smart move by Senator Schumer. Took ‘guts’ and courage!”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) sounded off on Senate Democrats, as the standoff within her party over a resolution to fund the government becomes increasingly tense.
Said Ocasio-Cortez: “It is a huge slap in the face, and I think that there’s a wide sense of betrayal, if things proceed as currently planned.”
She added: “There will be a day where the Senate will need the House to move on something.”
“Former TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, may have “significantly underpaid” his Medicare and Social Security taxes from 2021 to 2023,” Politico reports.
“The memo created by Democratic staff on the Senate Finance Committee comes as Oz is expected to face the panel on Friday for a confirmation hearing to head the sprawling agency, which is tasked with overseeing coverage of more than 160 million Americans through Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges.”
“The White House is withdrawing its nominee to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in an abrupt move just hours before his confirmation hearing was scheduled to begin,” Politico reports.
“Trump officials were expected to inform the Senate Thursday morning that Dave Weldon, a former Florida congressman, will no longer be its pick for the agency.”
“Weldon had faced growing scrutiny over his anti-vaccine views, including an extensive record during his time in Congress of raising questions about the safety of vaccines and their potential links to autism.”
Washington Post: “The pulling of Weldon marks a rare setback for a Trump administration nominee. The Senate has confirmed every controversial choice brought to a full vote on the floor to date.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is packing venues as he crisscrosses the country to hammer President Trump’s economic policies, surprising even some of his aides, the Washington Post reports.
“The 83-year-old acknowledges that his efforts might look like he’s seeding the ground for a presidential bid, but that’s not what he’s interested in. The crowd sizes, however, have raised questions about who could succeed him as the leading Democratic populist and how Democrats can more effectively get their message out in a country that leaned rightward in the last election.”
“They’re 100 percent gonna swallow it. They’re totally screwed.”
— A White House official, quoted by Politico, on Senate Democrats being forced to accept the House funding bill to prevent a government shutdown.
“Senate Democrats left a private meeting Wednesday saying there aren’t enough votes to advance the short-term funding bill that passed the House on Tuesday,” Axios reports.
“This raises the chances of a government shutdown this weekend. Democrats are in the unusual position of being willing to risk a shutdown to negotiate a better deal with Republicans.”
Said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA): “Democrats had nothing to do with this bill. And we want an opportunity to get an amendment vote or two. So that’s what we are insisting on to vote for cloture. There are not the votes right now to pass it.”
New York Times: “Any changes to the bill would require the House to approve it — but House Republicans purposefully left town after passing the legislation.”
“President Donald Trump on Wednesday called Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer a ‘Palestinian’ as he defended the GOP’s government spending bill and his policies on corporate taxes and rising grocery prices,” Politico reports.
Said Trump: “Schumer is a Palestinian, as far as I’m concerned. He’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore.”
“Senate Republicans are raising grave doubts about House Republicans’ plan to raise the debt ceiling as part of a massive tax cuts and border spending bill, a dynamic that could lead to a protracted negotiation with Democrats over avoiding a default,” Semafor reports.
“With roughly two or three months before the US could breach the debt ceiling, the House is trying to raise it by $4 trillion as part of a party-line tax cut bill.”
“However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has repeatedly told his members he doesn’t believe it can win the 50 Republican votes needed to clear the chamber.”
“Senate Finance Committee Republicans will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday to discuss the path forward for crafting legislation to enact broad swaths of the administration’s domestic agenda,” Politico reports.
“Senate Democrats are grappling with whether or not to support a House GOP funding patch less than three days before a possible government shutdown,” Politico reports.
“With 52 Republicans expected to back the House-passed stopgap, eight Democrats would need to help advance it to a final Senate vote. So far only one — Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — has indicated he’ll support it. Other key swing voters are on the fence.”
Punchbowl News: “Democratic senators are meeting for lunch and are expected to continue exchanging ideas on how to handle the mess in front of them — whether, and how, to help Republicans pass the funding bill, or force a government shutdown.”
Elon Musk called Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) — a decorated Navy pilot and former NASA astronaut — a traitor in a post on X after the senator visited Ukraine and expressed his support for the country in its war with Russia, the Washington Post reports.
Kelly replied: “Traitor? Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do.”
“Mike Johnson to Chuck Schumer on government funding: Your move,” Politico reports.
“House Republicans are pushing a not-so-clean spending patch through September that would add billions of dollars for deportations, veterans’ health care and the military — and cut $13 billion in funding for non-defense programs. The speaker is planning to put the stopgap, known as a continuing resolution or a CR, on the floor Tuesday, and then send members home for recess before the Senate can send back any changes.”
“One of the Democratic Party’s most notable digital media leaders is dating one of the party’s most media-friendly lawmakers, according to a Washington Democrat and a pointed Instagram post,” Semafor reports.
“Tara McGowan, the CEO of the network of digital media sites known as Courier Newsroom, has been linked to Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who recently separated from his wife.”
“How absolutely lame it is. You honestly think that life is full of House of Cards or snappy dialogue out of The West Wing. And it’s sad. You’re constantly living out of a suitcase.”
— Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), quoted by Politico, on life in Congress.
“Presidential addresses to the nation, whether joint sessions of Congress or State of the Union speeches, were historically an opportunity to promote national unity while also highlighting policy differences,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“That ship has long sailed, but President Trump’s address in the Capitol on Tuesday night — and the response from lawmakers of both parties — was remarkable and fiery from the moment it began, and the most contentious in recent memory.”
Associated Press: “The president has always reveled in his reputation for tough talk. But a look back at 2017, when Trump gave his first speech to Congress in his first term, shows how Trump has only become more of a hardliner.”
Stephen Collinson: Trump’s big night deepens America’s bitter internal schisms.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, had romantic relationships with top Air Force and Navy officials which created potential conflicts of interest, ProPublica reports.
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.