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McCarthy Proposes Gutting Office of Congressional Ethics in Bid for Speaker — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spent the first two days of the new year trying to shore up GOP support for his bid to be Speaker by releasing a series of proposals aimed at winning over hard-right detractors who stand to torpedo his ascension.
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Balloon Juice, Congressional Integrity …, Accountable US, RedState, The Hill, Raw Story, Public Citizen and Slay News
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Welcome to the MAGA Crackup — The incredible shrinking Kevin McCarthy — Well, Happy New Year to you, too. — Today was supposed to be the GOP's celebration of the Red Wave, a moment of triumph and anticipation. Instead, we are likely to get a sh*tshow for the ages from an unruly …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Raw Story, New York Times and NPR


McCarthy Remains Short of Support to Become Speaker as Vote Nears — A monthslong lobbying effort has failed to yield the breakthrough the California Republican would need to cement the top job, threatening a messy floor fight just as his party is assuming control of the House.
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Insider, The Hill, Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Wall Street Journal, The Root, ABC News, Washington Times, RedState, Forbes, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, BRIGHT, Wide World of News, The Dispatch, Fox News, Uzair's Substack, IJR, Vanity Fair and New York Daily News


Republicans Explode Into Chaos on Day 1 of Controlling the House — Dan Crenshaw nearly cried on TV about his “narcissist” colleagues. Matt Gaetz called Kevin McCarthy an alligator. McCarthy is cursing at everyone. A trainwreck! — Alerts — Republicans spent most of 2022 giddy …
Discussion:
Fox News, New Republic, The Texas Tribune, The Hill, Florida Politics, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, NewsNation, 77 WABC and Robert Reich


Kevin McCarthy will learn his fate today — Good morning, Early Birds. Happy New Year. We're pulling for the Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin after he was critically injured in Monday night's game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Tips: earlytips@washpost.com. Thanks for waking up with us.
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NBC News, CNBC, USA Today, Politico, CNN, Reason, The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Atlantic, ABC News, NewsNation and The Daily Caller


The right has already won the House speakership election — No matter how they resolve Tuesday's vote choosing the next speaker of the House, Republicans appear poised to double down on the hard-edged politics that most swing state voters rejected in last November's midterm election.
Discussion:
Fox News, PoliticusUSA, Washington Examiner, ABC News, Opinion Today, Slender Threads, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit and The Hill


How the House elects its speaker, and why Tuesday's vote could make history — Rep. Kevin McCarthy needs 218 votes to become the next speaker, but a group of far-right members of the House oppose his election. Here's when the vote will be — and what will happen if he doesn't win outright.


‘I earned this job’: Republicans explode in meeting before speaker vote
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Fox News, Washington Examiner, The Hill, National Review, RedState, PoliticusUSA, The Corsair, Raw Story, Breitbart, CNN, Patterico's Pontifications, The Guardian, The Daily Caller and Reuters

GOP dilemma: If not McCarthy, then who?
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Fox News, Washington Post, The Hill, Steve Bannon's War Room, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, The Guardian, Raw Story, PoliticusUSA, The Daily Beast, The American Spectator, Frontpage Mag, The Daily Caller, UPI, Roll Call, Bob Gaydos, The Gateway Pundit, Wall Street Journal, Digby's Hullabaloo, Snapshot, Club for Growth, USA Today, Axios, The Hill, Politico, Balkinization, USA Today, Associated Press, Outside the Beltway and New York Times

House Democrats mock Republican ‘division and dysfunction’ ahead of McCarthy speaker vote

1/3/23 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM
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The Hill, Bloomberg, New York Times, Sky Dancing, CBS News, Reuters, National Review, The Washington Current, Just The News, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Political Wire and Semafor

Principals — with Steve Clemons — Representative-elect George Santos says he supports …
Discussion:
The Hill, The Daily Signal, Mock Paper Scissors and Conservative Brief

Kevin McCarthy's supporters might not be ready for a long fight
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Daily Caller, RedState, Al Jazeera, NBC News and Bloomberg


Pro-Putin operatives in Germany work to turn Berlin against Ukraine — In Germany some are clamouring for a change in course on Ukraine. Key figures in the campaign have links to the Russian state or far right, a Reuters investigation has found. — In a square beneath the twin spires …
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Trying to Trademark ‘Rigged Election,’ and Other Revelations From the Jan. 6 Transcripts — The Jan. 6 committee released a whirlwind of documents in its final days and wrapped up its work on Monday. — WASHINGTON — The nation's top military officer saw the Jan. 6 attack as similar to the …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, New York Daily News, CBS News, The Hill, HuffPost, Washington Times and CNN
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Virgin Islands Attorney General Loses Her Job Days After Suing JPMorgan Chase in Connection with the Jeffrey Epstein Probe — The Virgin Islands top prosecutor who reached a more than $105 million settlement with Jeffrey Epstein's estate lost her job days after suing JPMorgan Chase in connection with her probe.


Americans Largely Pessimistic About U.S. Prospects in 2023 — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Coming off several challenging years, Americans enter 2023 with a mostly gloomy outlook for the U.S. as majorities predict negative conditions in 12 of 13 economic, political, societal and international arenas.
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Post, Washington Examiner and The Daily Caller


George Santos Comes to Washington. It Could Be Awkward. — On the first day of the 118th Congress, the representative-elect, a Republican who has made false claims about his background, education and finances, will bring his saga to Capitol Hill. — WASHINGTON — Representative-elect George Santos has been hard to pin down.
Discussion:
Politico, USA Today and New York Times


Exclusive: Donald Trump Jr. signs 7-figure podcast deal with Rumble … - Rumble went public via a blank check company merger in September that valued the platform at over $2 billion at the time. — The company has made strides in user growth, but continues to burn through cash as it launches new features and spends on marketing.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Slay News, Mediaite and Rumble, more at Mediagazer »


Colorado plans to send more migrants to New York — NEW YORK — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis plans to send migrants to major cities including New York, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday, warning that the nation's largest city is already struggling to deal an influx of people sent from Texas and other Republican-led states.
Discussion:
Fox News and FOX31 Denver


Trump's Tax Returns Are Only Part of the Picture — Democrats released six years' worth of former President Donald Trump's tax returns last Friday, confirming earlier findings outlined in a pair of congressional analyses of the records: Trump took hundreds of millions of dollars …


Trump seems to have a large war chest - but is he struggling to raise money? — Some high-profile mega-donors have fled, small-dollar donor stream that fueled his past runs is drying up, and he is accused of violating ‘soft money’ laws — ith his 2024 presidential candidacy officially kicked into gear …
Discussion:
Raw Story


Muzzled by DeSantis, Critical Race Theory Professors Cancel Courses or Modify Their Teaching — Co-published with The Atlantic … Jonathan Cox faced an agonizing decision. He was scheduled to teach two classes this past fall at the University of Central Florida that would explore colorblind racism …


Kellyanne Conway Reveals Only Person Donald Trump ‘Reserves Fear For’ — Conway said she contacted Melania Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, to have her husband quell the growing mob — because Melania was the only person Trump feared. — Donald Trump feared just one person during his volatile one-term presidency: his own wife, Melania Trump.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Select Committee …, Law & Crime, Insider and Washington Press


A Far-Right Gang Of House Members Will Hold Power Over Their Caucus — With A Megaphone — The GOP lawmakers, who have spent years becoming far-right influencers, are poised to hold a concerning amount of control over the new Congress. — The day after Election Day, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Washington Monthly


Nikki Haley slams McConnell, Biden ‘publicity stunt’ in Kentucky: ‘Nothing to celebrate’ — Haley blasts ‘woke, bloated infrastructure law’ ahead of Biden, McConnell event in Kentucky
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, RedState, Twitchy, BizPac Review and Washington Times


A Con Man Is Succeeding Me in Congress Today — Mr. Suozzi, a Democrat, has represented New York's Third Congressional District since 2017. He is a former Nassau County executive and mayor of Glen Cove on Long Island and ran for the Democratic nomination for governor of New York in 2022.