memeorandum: Trump Ramps Up Efforts To Retain Control Of The Republican Party By Attacking McConnell (HuffPost)

9:35 PM ET, February 18, 2021

Top Items:

Ted Cruz's Cancún Trip: Family Texts Detail His Political Blunder — The Texas senator faced fierce blowback for fleeing his state as a disaster unfolded. Text messages sent by his wife revealed a hastily planned trip away from their “FREEZING” family home.

Fox News:

Ted Cruz flew to Cancun with his family amid power crisis in Texas: source — Millions in Texas without power, at least 20 dead — Texas outages is proof we need to expand energy options: Wesley Hunt — Sen. Ted Cruz flew to Cancun, Mexico, with his family this week as Texas dealt …

CNN:

Ted Cruz has repeatedly slammed politicians for vacationing during crisis — (CNN)Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is facing backlash for traveling to Mexico as a winter disaster ravages his home state, has repeatedly criticized politicians who vacationed or took part in leisure activities during times of crisis, a CNN KFile review finds.

Discussion: Insider, The Big Lead, Houston Public Media, Bulwark+ and Forbes

Lauren Larson / Texas Monthly:

13 Curses to Mutter Against Ted Cruz While You Boil Snow to Drink — May you make direct eye contact with your neighbor during your yard pee. — NOTES — This week, as millions of Texans were left without power and water as temperatures dropped to record lows, one man said no—not me.

CNN:

Cruz responds to fury over his Cancun trip — (CNN)Sen. Ted Cruz and his family flew to Cancun, Mexico, he confirmed in a statement to CNN, as a winter disaster in his home state left millions without power or water. — Analysis: Cruz's Cancun trip violates an unwritten rule of politics.

Discussion: Forbes, HuffPost, USA Today, Politico, Washington Post, UPROXX, Insider, Raw Story, Washington Times, IJR, The Week, United States Senator …, Mediaite, Vox, VICE, Variety, Breitbart and Political Wire

Associated Press:

AP source: Sen. Cruz went to Mexico on vacation amid storm — DALLAS (AP) — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has traveled to Mexico for a family vacation as his home state struggles with a weather crisis that has left much of Texas without power. — The high-profile Republican lawmaker went with his family …

Michael Hardy / New York Magazine:

Ted Cruz Abandons Millions of Freezing Texans and His Poodle, Snowflake — After jaunting off to Cancún with his family Wednesday night, Senator Ted Cruz explained that he was merely escorting his teenage girls on a vacation trip with their friends. In an apparent bid for sympathy …

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
Ted Cruz Is No Hypocrite. He's Worse.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Twitchy and CNN

Washington Post:
Live updates: Power restored to 2 million homes in Texas; death toll tops 30

Discussion: The Hill, NPR, CNN, Washington Examiner and UPI

Christopher Hahn / Occupy Democrats:
Ted Cruz's Cancun scandal is a second Alamo for Texas Republicans

Discussion: Washington Post

Todd J. Gillman / Dallas Morning News:
Barbs fly at Ted Cruz for heading to Cancun as millions in Texas freeze without power

Discussion: HuffPost, CNBC, UPI, Insider, KSAT-TV, POLITICUSUSA, Daily Kos, UPROXX, IJR, Al Jazeera, Mediaite, LGBTQ Nation, The Wrap, Twitchy, Raw Story and Crooks and Liars

New York Daily News:
Sen. Cruz admits he made ‘a mistake’ by flying to sunny Cancun as Texas shivered in the dark

Discussion: Fox News, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, Raw Story, Juanita Jean's and Blogging Blue

New York Times:
Senator Ted Cruz left Texas for Cancún as the state was battered by a brutal winter storm.

Discussion: NBC News, The Guardian, HuffPost, Earther, Mediaite, New Republic, Law & Crime, Pharyngula, Occupy Democrats, Eater Houston, McSweeney's, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, The Wrap, Vanity Fair and Insider

Alexandra Petri / Washington Post:
Ted Cruz honestly surprised so many people want him around

Discussion: The American Independent, Insider and The Daily Caller

Philip Jankowski / Austin American-Statesman:
‘Complete and utter hypocrites’: Ted Cruz chided Austin mayor for Cabo trip. Then he flew to Cancun.

Discussion: Raw Story, UPROXX, Occupy Democrats and Washington Post

Washington Post:
Sen. Ted Cruz faces storm of controversy for flying to Cancun as Texas grapples with power outages caused by severe weather

Discussion: KHOU-TV, Insider, The Hill, Axios, ABC13, Fox News, The Daily Beast, Associated Press, NPR, littlegreenfootballs.com, Political Flare, TMZ.com, Grand Forks Herald, Bloomberg, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, Raw Story and Townhall

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
Sen. Ted Cruz comes under fire after photos show him traveling to Cancún as Texans freeze

Discussion: Reuters, RedState, TheBlaze, HotAir and Wall Street Journal

New York Times:

Manhattan D.A. Recruits Top Prosecutor for Trump Inquiry — The Manhattan district attorney has enlisted a former federal prosecutor who is an expert on white-collar crime to join the team investigating the Trump family business. — As the Manhattan district attorney's office steps …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Examiner, Law & Crime, Political Wire and Raw Story

CNN:
The Supreme Court is still sitting on Trump's tax returns, and justices aren't saying why

Discussion: New York Daily News, Digby's Hullabaloo, HotAir and Raw Story

Erin Douglas / The Texas Tribune:

Texas was “seconds and minutes” away from catastrophic monthslong blackouts, officials say — Officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said that grid operators implemented blackouts to avoid a catastrophic failure that could have left Texans in the dark for months. — Copy link

Discussion: The Hill, The Western Journal, New York Times, Houston Public Media, The Guardian, HuffPost, Snopes.com, Forbes, Insider, Grist, National Review, Common Dreams, Raw Story, WFAA-TV and Eschaton

Joseph Guzman / The Hill:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Texas Gov Abbott fire at each other over deadly winter storm, Green New Deal

Discussion: The Texas Tribune, NBC News and IJR

Whitney Wild / CNN:

6 Capitol Police officers suspended, 29 others being investigated for alleged roles in riot — (CNN)Six US Capitol Police officers have been suspended with pay, and 29 others have been placed under investigation, for their actions in the January 6 riot, a department spokesman said Thursday.

Discussion: Political Wire and Liberty Unyielding

Lindsay Watts / WTTG-TV:
6 Capitol police officers suspended, 35 under investigation after Capitol riot, spokesperson says

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Michael Balsamo / Associated Press:
AP source: Police suggest keeping Capitol fence for months

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Townhall and Twitchy

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Ivanka Trump will not run against Marco Rubio for one of Florida's Senate seats. — Ivanka Trump will not run for the U.S. Senate from Florida in 2022, according to people close to her as well as an aide to Senator Marco Rubio, who holds the seat. — Since the final days …

Discussion: USA Today, Associated Press, Politico, Vanity Fair, CNN, The Daily Beast, No More Mister Nice Blog, CBS News, The Times of Israel, Breitbart, HotAir, Bloomberg, New York Post and Washington Times

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Immigration Overhaul Would Offer 8-Year Path to Citizenship for Millions

New York Times:
Biden Administration Formally Offers to Restart Nuclear Talks With Iran

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, NBC News, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, Latest MENA News Today and Associated Press

Joe Cirincione / Responsible Statecraft:
Why hasn't Biden returned to the Iran nuclear deal?

Discussion: Politico

Michelle Nichols / Reuters: U.S. rescinds Trump White House claim that all U.N. sanctions had been reimposed on Iran

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic:

Don't Read This If You Were a Rush Limbaugh Fan — As a radio broadcaster, Rush Limbaugh, who died yesterday, was a great success: He pioneered his genre, attracted millions of listeners for several decades, and grew fantastically wealthy. Many good people were used to his daily company …

Discussion: The Week, The 19th, Raw Story, Human Events, Newsbusters, Vox and Hollywood in Toto, more at Mediagazer »

Leah Barkoukis / Townhall:
What Rush Limbaugh Discussed on His Final Radio Show

Discussion: National Review, Fox News and Crooks and Liars

Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Why We're Taught to Not Speak Ill of the Dead

Discussion: Three Martini Lunch, RedState and Issues & Insights

Politico:

Trump snubs Haley — SCOOP: NIKKI HALEY reached out to former President DONALD TRUMP on Wednesday to request a sit-down at Mar-a-Lago, but a source familiar tells Playbook that he turned her down. The two haven't spoken since the insurrection on Jan. 6, when Haley blasted Trump for inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol.

HuffPost:
Trump Ramps Up Efforts To Retain Control Of The Republican Party By Attacking McConnell

Discussion: The Hill, POLITICUSUSA, WTOP, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, CNN, Forbes, Mother Jones and Raw Story

Joe Sneve / Argus Leader:

AG Jason Ravnsborg charged with three misdemeanors in crash that killed Highmore man — South Dakota's Attorney General will face misdemeanor charges for his role in a crash that killed a Highmore man more than five months ago. — The Hyde County State's Attorney's Office announced Thursday …

Discussion: TheBlaze and The Hill

Stephen Groves / Associated Press:
South Dakota's AG charged with 3 misdemeanors in fatal crash

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Law & Crime and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Tom Lawrence / The Daily Beast:
South Dakota Attorney General Charged in Fatal Car Crash

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:

White House announces $4 billion in funding for Covax, the global vaccine effort that Trump spurned — The White House is throwing its support behind a global push to distribute coronavirus vaccines equitably, pledging $4 billion dollars to a multilateral effort the Trump administration spurned.

Discussion: ABC News, Financial Times, The Hill, Forbes, The Week, Roll Call and KFF

Financial Times:
Emmanuel Macron urges Europe to send vaccines to Africa now

Discussion: Politico, The Guardian and Washington Post

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Republicans think they've found Biden's big weakness. But there's a problem. — In recent days, Republicans have tried to project confidence that they've found a killer attack line on President Biden: They can use the increasing anger of parents over the failure of schools to reopen to win back the suburban voters they've lost.

Discussion: HotAir and Raw Story

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:

James Murdoch, Who Publicly Broke With Family Over Climate Change, Took $2.2 Million In ‘Personal’ Flights On Corporate Jet — James Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, took $477,000 in personal flights on his family company's corporate jet in 2018, his last year as CEO of 21st Century Fox, records show.

Jessica Testa / New York Times:

Ella Emhoff Drops a Small (Very Small) Collection of Knits — The second daughter turned model released a five-piece collection. Only one of each item was made. — Ella Emhoff, the 21-year-old knitwear designer who signed a major modeling contract in January, has released …

Discussion: The Daily Beast and Washingtonian

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed News:

Trump Can Still Be The Republican Party's Future. Just Look To Arizona. — Arizona Republicans keep losing. But the Arizona Republican Party has already turned itself into a Trump machine, still trying to win an election that's long over. And that might be the future of conservatism.

Discussion: Common Dreams

Politico:

‘Recipe for disaster’: Dem fears mount over immigration overhaul — “Biden is going to be dealing with a minority in Congress if he continues down some of these paths,” said one Democratic congressman. — Migrants are loaded onto a bus by U.S. Border Patrol agents after being detained …