memeorandum: Ohio's U.S. Sen. Rob Portman won't run for re-election; Republican cites ‘partisan gridlock’ (Jason Williams/Cincinnati.com)

12:45 PM ET, January 25, 2021

Top Items:

Jason Williams / Cincinnati.com:

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.

Discussion: USA Today, Associated Press, Senator Rob Portman, Washington Examiner, National Review, Mediaite, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, UPI, Political Wire and Raw Story

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Rob Portman won't seek reelection — Ohio Republican Rob Portman will not seek a third Senate term in 2022, a blow to both Republicans' hopes of taking back the Senate and the chamber's dwindling number of centrists. — The two-term senator is one of the most effective legislators in the Senate …

Discussion: CNN, Axios, The Daily Beast, New York Times, Fox News, CBS News, CNBC, Washington Times, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, The Federalist and Raw Story

Jessie Balmert / Cincinnati.com: U.S. Sen. Rob Portman won't run for re-election. Which Republicans might run instead?

Roll Call:
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman not running for reelection

Discussion: CNN, CNBC, The Atlantic, Inside Elections, Deseret News and RedState

Nick Corasaniti / New York Times:

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.”

Katelyn Polantz / CNN:

Dominion sues Giuliani for $1.3 billion over ‘Big Lie’ about election fraud — (CNN)Dominion Voting Systems has sued former President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani for defamation after he pushed the “Big Lie” about election fraud on his podcast and TV appearances.

Discussion: New York Magazine, ABC News, CBS News, NPR, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, CBS Denver, Washington Times, Forbes, Orange County Register, Just The News, ABC7 and Eschaton

Fadel Allassan / Axios:
Dominion files $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani

Discussion: CNBC, New York Post, Business Insider, The Daily Caller and HotAir

Politico:

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 …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Juanita Jean's, theslot.jezebel.com, Mediaite and Raw Story

David Goldman / CNN:

Jim Acosta: I've never seen Trump this alone — New York (CNN Business)Donald Trump spent his last moments as President sad and alone, according to Jim Acosta, who led CNN's coverage of Trump during his presidency. — In his farewell to Washington on Wednesday morning …

Discussion: TheBlaze

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Sarah Huckabee Sanders expected to announce gubernatorial bid

Discussion: National Review, CBS News, Fox News, Associated Press, Bangor Daily News, The Guardian, Florida Politics, New York Magazine, Business Insider, New York Times, The Hill, WTOP, Juanita Jean's, Washington Times, Raw Story and New York Post

Fadel Allassan / Axios:

Supreme Court dismisses Trump emoluments lawsuits as moot — The Supreme Court on Monday ordered lower courts to dismiss two cases that alleged former President Donald Trump unlawfully profited from his businesses while in office, in violation of the Constitution's emoluments clauses.

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg and Talking Points Memo

Ariane de Vogue / CNN:

Supreme Court dismisses emolument cases against Trump — CNN analyst explains Emoluments Clause to Trump — Washington (CNN)The Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a case concerning whether former President Donald Trump violated provisions of the Constitution that bar a president from profiting from a foreign government.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, SCOTUSblog and Raw Story

Associated Press:
Supreme Court ends Trump emoluments lawsuits

Discussion: HotAir and Associated Press

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Supreme Court shuts down 2 Trump emoluments cases

Discussion: NBC News, Washington Examiner, The Independent and New York Post

Tucker Higgins / CNBC:
Supreme Court dismisses two cases challenging Trump's business conflicts

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, USA Today and The Moderate Voice

Christian Vanderbrouk / The Bulwark:

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 …

Discussion: Raw Story

Josh Hawley / New York Post:

It's time to stand up against the muzzling of America — Have you checked your social credit score lately? You might want to. Mine seems to have taken a nosedive this month. You might want to see how yours is doing. — Everyone knows what a credit score is. But social credit scores are new.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Business Insider, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Wrap, Mediaite, The American Independent, Raw Story, HuffPost and Instapundit

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Josh Hawley Believes Disliking Josh Hawley Is an Act of Censorship

Discussion: New York Post

Politico:

Biden repeals Trump-era ban on transgender military service — President Joe Biden repealed the ban on transgender troops serving in the military on Monday, rolling back an order from former President Donald Trump that shocked Pentagon leaders and kick-started years of legal trouble for the administration.

Discussion: Business Insider, Bloomberg, Associated Press, Mother Jones, IJR, The Daily Caller, No Trans Military Ban, Law & Crime and Daily Kos

Orion Rummler / Axios:
Biden signs order overturning Trump's transgender military ban

Discussion: CBS News, Washington Examiner, Forbes and New York Post

NBC News:
Biden to reverse Trump's transgender military ban

Discussion: USA Today, The Daily Beast, National Review, Fox News, NPR, Associated Press, The American Independent, Talking Points Memo, TheGrio, theslot.jezebel.com, TheBlaze, The Independent, CNN and Rolling Stone

Moderna, Inc.:

Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Retains Neutralizing Activity Against Emerging Variants First Identified in the U.K. and the Republic of South Africa — Out of an abundance of caution, Moderna launches clinical program to boost immunity to emerging variants — Manuscript posted to preprint server …

Discussion: NPR, Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, Politico, USA Today, HotAir, UPI, Townhall, New York Post, The Daily Caller, STAT, TechCrunch, CBS Boston, KRON4 and Reuters

Denise Grady / New York Times:
Moderna Says Vaccine Still Protects Against Virus Variants

Discussion: CBS News, Washington Post, Politico, Al Jazeera, Florida Politics, IJR, Boston Herald, The Guardian and WTOP

Just Security:

“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.

Discussion: Raw Story, Tech Policy Press and Political Wire

U.S. Department of Justice Office …:

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 …

Discussion: Axios and Raw Story

Taryn Luna / Los Angeles Times:

Newsom cancels California's COVID-19 stay-at-home orders — California officials lifted regional coronavirus stay-at-home orders across the state on Monday, a change that could allow restaurants and gyms in many counties to reopen outdoor dining and other services.

Discussion: ABC30, Fox News, HotAir and New York Post

Politico:
Newsom to lift stay-home orders across California

Discussion: National Review and The Daily Caller

Olivia Goldhill / STAT:

Undercounting of Covid-19 deaths is greatest in pro-Trump areas, analysis shows — Tens of thousands of Covid-19 deaths are going unreported in the U.S., with far more missed in counties that strongly supported former President Trump, according to new research.

Alexis Benveniste / CNN:

Members are quitting ‘sad’ Mar-a-Lago after Trump loses — New York (CNN Business)Many once-loyal members of Mar-a-Lago are leaving because they no longer want to have any connection to former President Donald Trump, according to the author of the definitive book about the resort.

Discussion: Business Insider and Butterflies and Wheels

Rosemary Rossi / The Wrap:
‘Go Back to Moscow’: Airplane Banners Near Mar-a-Lago Taunt ‘Pathetic Loser’ Trump

Discussion: Mediaite, Business Insider, The Independent and HuffPost

Ed O'Keefe / CBS News:

The Bidens' dogs arrive at White House — Dogs have returned to the White House after a four-year hiatus. — Champ and Major, the German shepherds of President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, arrived at the White House on Sunday, a few days after their owners.

Discussion: CNN

Kate Bennett / CNN:
White House staff welcomes new first family: ‘The residence has life again’

Discussion: The Hill, Associated Press and Raw Story

Politico:

MAGA media looks to turn White House briefing room into a battlefield — Eric Bolling, the conservative host of Sinclair Broadcast Group's “America This Week,” would travel regularly to Donald Trump's White House, interviewing the former president seven times and occasionally attending press briefings.

Discussion: Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Amanda Macias / CNBC:

CDC director says federal government does not know how much Covid vaccine the U.S. has — The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Sunday that the federal government doesn't know how much coronavirus vaccine the nation has. — “I can't tell you how much vaccine …

Discussion: National Review, HotAir and American Prospect

Washington Post:

Fight over the rules grinds the Senate to a halt, imperiling Biden's legislative agenda — When President Biden took office last week, he promised sweeping, bipartisan legislation to solve the coronavirus pandemic, fix the economy and overhaul immigration. — Just days later …

Discussion: Raw Story, Fox News, Politico, Orange County Register, Los Angeles Times, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, The Message Box, The Hill, Breitbart, Common Dreams, Bangor Daily News, Roll Call, Daily Kos and Conservative News Today

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:

Liz Cheney Should Step Away From Leadership For The Sake Of GOP Voters — There is no reason to leave Cheney in her leadership position. In fact, it's negligence for Republican leaders to keep her there. — Liz Cheney's problems are piling up, according to Politico.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Post, Real Clear Politics and CNN

Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:

Evidence Piles Up for Trump's Impeachment Trial — Each day seems to bring another egregious example of the former president's attempt to subvert the truth and democracy. — One of the courtroom highlights of the recent Netflix film “The Trial of the Chicago 7” involves …

Discussion: New York Times, Talking Points Memo and The Week

Jared S. Hopkins / Wall Street Journal:

Merck Scraps Covid-19 Vaccine Candidates — The two shots generated comparatively weak immune responses in early-stage studies — Merck & Co. said Monday that it is halting development of its two experimental Covid-19 vaccines, after early clinical-trial data showed the shots generated …

Discussion: Al Jazeera and NPR

Torey Van Oot / Axios:

Mike Lindell moves the goalposts on a run for Minnesota governor — The will-he-or-won't-he speculation surrounding a possible gubernatorial run by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is destined to continue at least a bit longer. — What he's saying: Lindell told Axios that his focus is currently on proving his …

Discussion: Star Tribune

Andrew Van Dam / Washington Post:

Governors' shutdowns did not cause the pandemic jobs crisis — People started staying at home before the shutdowns were ordered, data shows — The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 416,000 Americans and recently pulled the U.S. economic recovery into reverse.