Can Democrats exercise a mini-nuclear option against McConnell?  —  The standoff in the Senate continues: Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is demanding that Democrats agree in advance to keep the legislative filibuster in place and is refusing to allow Senate business to proceed until they do.

Biden tells CNN Trump's impeachment trial ‘has to happen’  —  (CNN)President Joe Biden on Monday offered his most extensive comments since taking office on former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, telling CNN, “I think it has to happen.”  —  Biden made the comment during a brief …

Apollo C.E.O. to Step Down After Firm Finds More Payments to Jeffrey Epstein  —  An inquiry's finding that Leon Black, the billionaire boss of Apollo Global Management, paid the convicted sex offender $150 million touched off an attempt to remove him.  —  The founders of Apollo Global Management …

Rupert Murdoch, Accepting Award, Condemns ‘Awful Woke Orthodoxy’  —  Mr. Murdoch of News Corp, who spoke in a video, has been relatively quiet publicly in recent years.  He called conformity on social media “a straitjacket on sensibility.”  —  The media mogul Rupert Murdoch denounced an …

Feds Arrest Man Who Wore His High School Varsity Jacket To The Capitol Siege  —  “We all stormed the us capital and tried to take over the government,” he wrote.  “We failed but f**k it.”  —  Federal authorities have charged a New York man in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol …

As Trump Seeks to Remain a Political Force, New Targets Emerge  —  As Donald Trump surveys the political landscape, there is a sudden Senate opening in Ohio, an ally's bid for Arkansas governor, and some scores to settle elsewhere.  —  Former President Donald J. Trump …

Majority Support Trump Impeachment  —  Belief that voter fraud led to Biden win persists among 1 in 3  —  West Long Branch, NJ - A clear majority of Americans support the second impeachment of former president Donald Trump.  A majority also wants the Senate to convict him and bar …

Meet the Woman Behind Salon's Sloppy Tom Cotton Piece  —  Something funny happened when Sen. Tom Cotton's (R., Ark.) aides received a request for comment from intrepid Salon reporter Roger Sollenberger.  —  Cotton's team, which shared the email correspondence with the Washington Free Beacon …

Janet Yellen confirmed as Treasury secretary  —  The Senate voted 84-15 to confirm Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary on Monday.  —  Why it matters: Yellen is the first woman to serve as Treasury secretary, a Cabinet position that will be crucial in helping steer the country out of the pandemic-induced economic crisis.

Iowa Senate leaders change virtual meeting policy after ‘pornographic’ Zoom incident  —  Republicans in the Iowa Senate said they have changed their policy for participants in virtual subcommittee meetings after an incident that was “pornographic in nature” during a Monday morning hearing.

Ohio's U.S. Sen. Rob Portman won't run for re-election; Republican cites ‘partisan gridlock’  —  Republican Rob Portman will not seek a third term in the U.S. Senate in 2022, he told The Enquirer - a move that will unsettle politics in both Greater Cincinnati and Washington D.C.

Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood fired by teen who faced off with Native American in viral video  —  BOSTON (Reuters) - A Kentucky teenager whose 2019 face-off with a Native American activist in Washington went viral has fired his lawyer, a man who played a key role in Donald Trump's attempts …

“Fight for Trump”: Video Evidence of Incitement at the Capitol  —  How direct is the connection between what President Donald Trump communicated to his supporters and their actions in laying siege to the U.S. Capitol?  Videos recorded by many individuals over the course of the day provide some answers.

Dr. Anthony Fauci: The Highest Paid Employee In The Entire U.S. Federal Government  —  Dr. Anthony Fauci made $417,608 in 2019, the latest year for which federal salaries are available.  That made him not only the highest paid doctor in the federal government, but the highest paid out of all four million federal employees.

Woman Accused of Stealing Laptop from Nancy Pelosi's Office May Lose Internet Access as Feds Allege Deepening Cover-Up  —  The woman alleged to have stolen a laptop from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the U.S. Capitol insurrection may have encouraged others to destroy evidence …

This D.C. neighborhood has quietly become a national model for resisting gentrification  —  How one D.C. neighborhood quietly became a national model for resisting gentrification  —  On Monday afternoon, June 1, the city of Washington was on the brink of a nervous breakdown.

Biden ups vaccine goal to 1.5 million shots a day, says vaccine to be widely available by spring … WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said he expects anyone who wants a vaccine to be able to get one by the spring and he upped his vaccination goal for his first 100 days in office.

Rudy Giuliani Sued by Dominion Voting Systems Over False Election Claims  —  The suit against Mr. Giuliani, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump who pushed to overturn the election results, accuses him of carrying out “a viral disinformation campaign.”

Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Announces Initiation of Investigation  —  Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz announced today that:  —  The DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is initiating an investigation into whether any former …

Biden to tap nurse as acting surgeon general  —  Susan Orsega would be among the first nurses to serve in the role of 'the nation's doctor'  —  The Biden administration has selected nurse Susan Orsega to serve as the nation's acting surgeon general, said two people with knowledge of her selection …

Meet Trump's Pro-Insurrection “Intellectuals”  —  We should have known January 6 was coming, because Trumpism's “intellectual” wing called for it, for weeks.  —  Last December, Ross Douthat suggested that “there are two Republican Parties.”  One of them governs dutifully, “certifying elections …

It's not just Trump on trial.  It's the whole Republican Party.  —  When the impeachment proceedings begin in the Senate, it will not be just Donald Trump in the dock.  The entire Republican Party will be on trial.  And there is every reason to believe that the GOP will fail this test …

QAnon Thinks Trump Will Become President Again on March 4  —  QAnon has started to merge with even more extreme conspiracy theories, including the “sovereign citizen” movement.  —  DG  —  Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 19th president of the United States on March 4, 2021.

Journalists Mobilize Against Free Speech  —  A new generation of media crusaders clamors for government control over what you see, hear, and read—and for banning their competition

100+ Politico Staffers Send Letter to Publisher Railing Against Publishing Ben Shapiro  —  The signees called out their top editor's response to internal critics, and reiterated that a firebrand like Shapiro does nothing to advance Politico's editorial values.  —  BEAST INSIDE

Some Trump aides stuck with him till the end.  Now they're screwed.  —  Four days into his post-presidency life, Donald Trump has insulated himself from the outside world.  —  Unseen by the public and unusually quiet as key parts of his policy legacy are dismantled by the new administration …

Former Voice of America overseer hired two law firms to $4 million no-bid contracts.  —  The former head of Voice of America's parent agency hired two law firms to open-ended, no-bid contracts, including one specifying that top lawyers would earn $1,470 per hour, according to documents and people familiar with the matter.

U.S. Attorney Announces Extradition Of Kenyan National For Large-Scale Trafficking Of Rhinoceros Horns And Elephant Ivory And Heroin Distribution  —  Indictment Alleges Conspiracy to Smuggle at Least 190 Kilograms of Rhinoceros Horns and at Least 10 Tons of Elephant Ivory Valued at More Than $7 Million

Scoop: Former OMB director to set up Pro-Trump think tanks  —  Russ Vought, who led Donald Trump's Office of Management and Budget, plans to announce two pro-Trump organizations Tuesday, aiming to provide the ideological ammunition to sustain Trump's political movement after his departure from the White House.

The most powerful Zoom call in the world  —  Welcome to POLITICO's 2021 Transition Playbook, your guide to the first 100 days of the Biden administration.  —  The most important meeting in JOE BIDEN's White House each day doesn't even happen in person.  The senior staff meeting each morning around 7:30 …

Biden's Initial Approval Rating Is Higher Than Trump's Ever Was  —  Most voters give Biden positive marks for his job performance  — 56% of voters approve of Biden's job performance, compared with 46% who approved of Donald Trump's work at a similar point in 2017.