Top Items:
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, CBS News and Washington Post
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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 and Axios
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:
Raw Story, Washington Times and Balloon Juice
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.
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:
Los Angeles Times, National Review, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story and BizPac Review
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, The Guardian, New York Times, New York Post, USA Today and Semafor
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, The Hill, New York Magazine and CNN
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
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
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
Houston Keene / Fox News:
McCarthy ally Sessions warns GOP holdouts: Treating House like Senate ‘dangerous way for us to go’
McCarthy ally Sessions warns GOP holdouts: Treating House like Senate ‘dangerous way for us to go’
Neil Munro / Breitbart:
Democrats Push for Pro-Amnesty ‘Moderate’ GOP Speaker
Democrats Push for Pro-Amnesty ‘Moderate’ GOP Speaker
Discussion:
BizPac Review, The Post Millennial and New York Times
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, Washington Post, Politico, The Hollywood Reporter, The Hill and CNN, more at Mediagazer »
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 …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Fox News, Insider, The Hill and Washington Times
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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
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 …
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, Raw Story and Political Wire
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, The American Independent and PoliticusUSA
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
Politico:
Within hours of Debbie Stabenow announcing her retirement, Dems are scrambling to replace her — Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow's decision to not run for reelection jolted national Democrats on Thursday, setting off a mad scramble for a newly open battleground seat in 2024.
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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 …
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 …
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 …