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Charlie Sykes / Morning Shots:
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 …
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Daily Mail, New York Times, Raw Story and NPR
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Politico:
Open revolt: McCarthy rejected a second time — Kevin McCarthy again failed to secure the votes for speaker in a highly unusual second ballot, as his dozen-plus detractors refused to relent in their push for fresh leadership atop the party. — This time, conservative hero Rep. Jim Jordan …
Philip Elliott / TIME:
Why Kevin McCarthy Is So Bad at This — This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIME's politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. — When Rep. Kevin McCarthy left his downtown D.C. condo just before 8 a.m. on Tuesday, the first full day of work …
Eric Cortellessa / TIME:
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.
New York Times:
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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Fox News, Insider, The Hill, Mother Jones, Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon, CNN, Washington Times, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, BRIGHT, Washington Examiner, The Root, RedState, Wide World of News, The Dispatch, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, PoliticusUSA, ABC News, Uzair's Substack, UPI, IJR, Vanity Fair, New York Daily News, CBS News, USA Today and Axios
Susan Rinkunas / Jezebel:
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 …
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Fox News, New Republic, Florida Politics, The Texas Tribune, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, NewsNation, The Hill, 77 WABC and Robert Reich
Washington Post:
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, Washington Times, Politico, UPI, The Hill, Reason, The Atlantic, USA Today, Fox News, ABC News, Reuters, NewsNation, Wall Street Journal and The Daily Caller
Fox News:
House speaker battle: Profanities fly as Republican factions get heated over McCarthy speakership bid
House speaker battle: Profanities fly as Republican factions get heated over McCarthy speakership bid
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Washington Examiner, Washington Free Beacon, The Hill, Denver Post, Raw Story, CNN, Al Jazeera, Mediaite, KTLA, New York Post, Breitbart, IJR, Just The News and Reuters
Chris Pandolfo / Fox News:
House Democrats mock Republican ‘division and dysfunction’ ahead of McCarthy speaker vote
House Democrats mock Republican ‘division and dysfunction’ ahead of McCarthy speaker vote
NBC News:
How the House elects its speaker, and why Tuesday's vote could make history
How the House elects its speaker, and why Tuesday's vote could make history
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Michigan Advance, Washington Examiner, Sacramento Bee, The Texan, Times of San Diego, Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Breitbart, Slay News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Deadline, PoliticusUSA, New York Times, CBS News, The Hill, RedState, New York Post, ABC News, Bloomberg, USA Today and Associated Press
Steve Clemons / Semafor:
Principals — with Steve Clemons — Representative-elect George Santos says he supports …
Principals — with Steve Clemons — Representative-elect George Santos says he supports …
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The Hill, The Daily Signal, Mock Paper Scissors, Raw Story and Conservative Brief
Reuters:
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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Marco Margaritoff / HuffPost:
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.
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UPROXX, Select Committee …, Raw Story, Law & Crime, Insider and Washington Press
Megan Brenan / Gallup:
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.
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The Hill, Washington Free Beacon, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner and Political Wire
Axios:
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.
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Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Hill, Slay News and Rumble, more at Mediagazer »
Annie Karni / New York Times:
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
New York Times:
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 …
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Washington Post, Twitchy, Raw Story, New York Daily News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CBS News, The Hill, HuffPost and Washington Times
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Ken Thomas / Wall Street Journal:
Biden to Renominate His Picks for Judicial and Diplomatic Posts — Nominees, including Eric Garcetti as ambassador to India, to be resubmitted after failing to win Senate confirmation last year — WASHINGTON—The White House intends to renominate dozens of presidential selections who failed …
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Washington Free Beacon, NBC News, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller and Daily News, more at Techmeme »
Adam Klasfeld / Law & Crime:
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.
Daniel Golden / ProPublica:
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 …
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Frontpage Mag
Joe Anuta / Politico:
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.
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Fox News, New York Post, The Daily Caller, FOX31 Denver, Frontpage Mag and Twitchy
Caroline Vakil / The Hill:
DeSantis strikes defiant tone in inauguration speech amid 2024 speculation — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) took aim at the “floundering federal establishment” in Washington during his inauguration speech on Tuesday, lauding his accomplishments during his first term as governor and calling Florida a symbol of freedom.
Discussion:
Insider, Washington Examiner and Miami Herald
Tom Perkins / The Guardian:
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
Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:
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 …
Steve Beynon / Military.com:
No Action Taken Against Army Officer After Public Dustup with Tucker Carlson over Women Serving — The Army took no action against Maj. Gen. Patrick Donahoe and allowed him to retire Sunday, ending a controversy after the service began an investigation into the armor officer's conduct online following posts …
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Washington Examiner