Top Items:
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Unrest swells among McCarthy's backers — Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross — DRIVING THE DAY — Around Christmas, Texas Republican Rep. ROGER WILLIAMS' wife suffered a medical emergency. This week, as she underwent treatment, her husband was eager to be by her side.
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Washington Post:
Policy demands, personal animus and more: Meet the McCarthy resistance — A group of hard-right House Republicans has stood this week between McCarthy and the speaker's gavel, airing a broad array of complaints — Ralph Norman says he will not support leader Kevin McCarthy's bid …
Discussion:
Detroit News, The Daily Signal, National Review, New York Times, Vox, The American Independent, Townhall, Associated Press, Just The News, NPR and CBS News
David Frum / The Atlantic:
No Tears for Kevin McCarthy — The defeat of Kevin McCarthy in his bid for the speakership of the House would be good for Congress. The defeat of Kevin McCarthy would be good for the United States. It might even be good for his own Republican Party. — Because the people attempting …
Discussion:
Florida Politics, Grid News, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Axios and New York Post
John F. Harris / Politico:
McCarthy Destroys His Speakership In Order to Save It — In desperate circumstances, Kevin McCarthy worked overnight Wednesday on a desperation deal. — If that deal is somehow successful, based on the work-in-progress details that came to light Thursday morning, House Republicans …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Raw Story, Washington Times and Balloon Juice
Steve Clemons / Semafor:
Principals — with Steve Clemons — So many stories are converging on the anniversary of the January 6th insurrection. Kevin McCarthy was angry at Trump — he was caught on tape that week suggesting he'd push him to resign — but “bent the knee” just weeks later at Mar-a-Lago.
Discussion:
New York Times, Morning Consult and The Hill
NBC News:
'I'm not even a congressman': House lawmakers and staffers can't function while speaker fight drags on — WASHINGTON — There is no speaker of the House. There are no active House lawmakers. There are no House committees. — At the moment, there is no functioning U.S. House of Representatives.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, 77 WABC, Fox News, New York Post, New York Times, USA Today and Semafor
New York Times:
In House Speaker Fight, Trump Struggles to Play Kingmaker — Donald Trump held separate rounds of calls to those opposing Kevin McCarthy as speaker and was surprised when he was met with resistance. — After Kevin McCarthy failed to win enough votes to become House speaker on Tuesday …
Discussion:
CNN, Los Angeles Times, National Review, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story and BizPac Review
Benjy Sarlin / Semafor:
Why the GOP's speaker fiasco might make it easier — yes, easier — to hike the debt ceiling
Why the GOP's speaker fiasco might make it easier — yes, easier — to hike the debt ceiling
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Breitbart, The Hill, New York Magazine and CNN
Jill Lawrence / USA Today:
McCarthy speaker spectacle is no joke. It shows the Republican Party will damage America.
McCarthy speaker spectacle is no joke. It shows the Republican Party will damage America.
Discussion:
Washington Post, NBC News, Insider and Mediaite
Philip Elliott / TIME:
The Chaos Is the Point: The McCarthy Holdouts Are Trolling Democracy
The Chaos Is the Point: The McCarthy Holdouts Are Trolling Democracy
Discussion:
Kotaku and The Daily Caller
Robert Reich / The Guardian:
House Democrats should unite with moderate Republicans to elect a speaker
House Democrats should unite with moderate Republicans to elect a speaker
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Balloon Juice and Fox News
Lachlan Markay / Axios:
GOP rebels cash in on McCarthy misery
GOP rebels cash in on McCarthy misery
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, The Washington Current, Fox News and Raw Story
CNN:
Trump lawyers ordered to hand over names of individuals hired to search Trump properties for classified documents — A federal judge has asked former President Donald Trump's attorneys to turn over the names of the individuals hired to search four properties for documents late last year, a source familiar with the order told CNN.
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Alan Feuer / New York Times:
Judge Rules for Justice Dept. in Dispute With Trump Over Documents Search — The court said the former president had to provide the government the names of private investigators he hired to search his properties last year for any classified material still in his possession.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Mercury News
Aaron Gordon / VICE:
Why C-SPAN's Camera Work Is Suddenly So Interesting — For decades, the network has asked to be able to film all of what happens in the House chamber, not just the person speaking. Thanks to the Kevin McCarthy Speaker battle, it is finally happening, in all its chaotic glory.
Discussion:
The Boston Globe, Slate, Politico, Washington Post, The Hollywood Reporter, The Hill and CNN, more at Mediagazer »
Politico:
Enablers, line-straddlers and quiet resisters: How GOP lawmakers contributed to Jan. 6 — A handful of Republicans who remained in the Jan. 6 committee's sights throughout its investigation are now leading the effort to deny Kevin McCarthy the speakership — using their power to bring the House to a standstill.
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Sued by Estate of Capitol Police Officer Who Died After Jan. 6 Attack — Wrongful death suit names former president and two rioters in connection with Officer Brian Sicknick's death — WASHINGTON—The estate of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died a day after defending …
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Adam Rawnsley / Rolling Stone:
Jan. 6 Committee Experiment Found TikTok Went From Zero To Nazi in 75 Minutes — The platform has largely escaped notice in the public battles over content moderation, but it's not immune from hateful extremism … They created Alice, a fictional 41-year-old from Acton, Massachusetts …
Discussion:
The Times of Israel and Wall Street Journal
Mackenzie Hawkins / Bloomberg:
More Americans Tap Credit Cards for Everyday Expenses — The number of Americans relying on credit cards to cover daily expenses jumped in December as households battered by inflation find their regular income is no longer enough to make ends meet. — New data released Thursday …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Roger Sollenberger / The Daily Beast:
Herschel Walker Staffer: Matt Schlapp ‘Groped’ My Crotch — American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp allegedly groped the crotch of a male staffer for Herschel Walker's campaign in October. … A staffer for Herschel Walker's Senate campaign has alleged to The Daily Beast …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Political Wire and Raw Story
Lisa Rubin / MSNBC:
Trump's renewed attack on Ruby Freeman is revealing. Here's why. — His revival of baseless claims against the former Georgia election worker could signal legal news — and might hurt his wallet, too. — Seemingly out of nowhere this week, former President Donald Trump fired off a series of deranged …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Atlanta News First, Nieman Lab and The American Independent
Gothamist:
In Queens, protesters call on George Santos to resign — or face voters … We rely on your support to make local news available to all — Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2023. — Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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Zach Everson / Forbes:
George Santos' Cartier Santos Watch Is Worth $7,800—Unless It's A Fake
George Santos' Cartier Santos Watch Is Worth $7,800—Unless It's A Fake
Discussion:
Mediaite
Noam Scheiber / New York Times:
U.S. Moves to Bar Noncompete Agreements in Labor Contracts — A sweeping proposal by the Federal Trade Commission would block companies from limiting their employees' ability to work for a rival. — In a far-reaching move that could raise wages and increase competition among businesses …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Semafor, Raw Story, The Hill, The Verge, Sportico, NPR, Vox, UPI, Ars Technica, CBS News, KTLA, Associated Press, TechCrunch, Just The News and HuffPost, more at Techmeme »
Politico:
Worst trip to St. Croix, ever — Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice. — Typically, you can pack light when flying somewhere warm. But that was not exactly the case for one White House staffer …
Jose Pagliery / The Daily Beast:
How Trump's Missing Call Logs Could Become His Nixon Tapes — The Trump White House call logs are now public, and they're about as trustworthy as his business income statements. — During the nearly nine hours that Congress was under attack on Jan. 6, 2021, the official White House call …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Megan Messerly / Politico:
South Carolina Supreme Court rules abortion protected under state constitution — The South Carolina Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the state's six-week abortion ban, ruling the privacy rights in the state constitution protect abortion access. — The 3-2 decision allows abortion …
Reuters:
Tesla cuts prices in China, other Asian markets as sales falter — Tesla (TSLA.O) cut prices in China for the second time in less than three months on Friday, fuelling forecasts of a wider price war amid weaker demand in the world's largest autos market. — The U.S. automaker also cut prices …
Discussion:
Electrek, Bloomberg and TechCrunch
Patrick Smith / NBC News:
Putin's Orthodox Christmas cease-fire begins, but Ukraine and its allies reject what they see as a cynical ploy — Zelenskyy says Putin's Christmas cease-fire plan is just a ploy — The cease-fire ordered unilaterally by Russian President Vladimir Putin to coincide with the start …
Discussion:
CNBC, Associated Press, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Digital Chosunilbo, ZeroHedge News, Forbes, National Review, The Hill, Press Enterprise, PwnAllTheThings, Al Jazeera, New York Post, The Guardian, UPI, USA Today, Semafor, Politico, Bloomberg, NPR and Political Wire