memeorandum: Congress is off to a spectacularly slow start, and members fear it won't get better (NBC News)

11:10 AM ET, February 2, 2023

Top Items:

Jonathan Martin / Politico:

The Cold Calculus Behind the Shrinking GOP Presidential Field — DANA POINT, Calif. — The last time the Republican National Committee held its winter meeting at the outset of an open presidential race, the state chairs and committee members arrived at the Hotel del Coronado …

Discussion: Raw Story and Crooks and Liars

New York Times:

Eager to Challenge Trump, Republicans Aren't So Eager to Be the First — Nikki Haley is expected to join the 2024 race this month, but other G.O.P. contenders are taking a wait-and-see approach. Some anti-Trump Republicans worry that too much dithering could be costly.

Politico:

Playbook: Trump vs. DeSantis vs. who else? — Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross — DRIVING THE DAY — NOT ‘IF,’ BUT ‘WHEN’ — RON KLAIN's departure from the White House on Wednesday was a tear-stained affair — the outgoing chief of staff cried …

Discussion: CBS News, The Daily Caller, New Yorker and Political Wire

Ryan Teague Beckwith / Bloomberg:
Trump's Attacks on Early Voting Worry Some in GOP Over Turnout

Discussion: Raw Story and The Atlantic

Marianne LeVine / Politico:
Cruz control: Texas Republican keeps his distance from 2024 White House hunt

Discussion: Raw Story and HuffPost

Daniel Victor / New York Times:

New Jersey Councilwoman Is Fatally Shot, Officials Say — Eunice K. Dwumfour, 30, was found dead in her car with multiple gunshot wounds on Wednesday night. She was serving her first term on the Sayreville Borough Council. — Eunice K. Dwumfour, a 30-year-old councilwoman serving …

Lawrence Richard / Fox News:

New Jersey Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour shot dead outside home in ‘despicable criminal act’ — Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour found dead inside vehicle outside apartment with multiple gunshot wounds — Fox News Flash top headlines for February 2

Discussion: CBS News, abc7NY, Washington Post, New York Post, Gothamist, New Jersey Globe, RLS Media, The Post Millennial, The Daily Caller, 6abc, The Western Journal and Washington Examiner

Matt Viser / Washington Post:

Hunter Biden's lawyers, in newly aggressive strategy, target his critics — His attorneys have sent letters to prosecutors urging probes of Rudy Giuliani, Steve Bannon and others — Hunter Biden's lawyers, in a newly aggressive strategy, sent a series of blistering letters Wednesday …

Discussion: Fox News, Wall Street Journal, RedState, NewsNation, Twitchy, Insider, CNN, Mediaite, Bloomberg, HotAir, TheBlaze and ABC News

New York Post:
Hunter Biden finally admits infamous laptop is his as he pleads for criminal probe

Discussion: HotAir, RedState, The Post Millennial, The Gateway Pundit, Arthuriana, Raw Story, Sean Hannity and Mediaite

NBC News:
Hunter Biden asks for criminal probe into Trump allies for ‘theft’ of data from laptop

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, emptywheel, RedState, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Raw Story, Twitchy and Psycho Politics

Graham Kates / CBS News:
Hunter Biden demands investigations and retractions, opening new front against GOP foes

Discussion: Human Events, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, Mediaite, WTAJ and Just The News

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Pelosi to back Schiff for California Senate seat if Feinstein doesn't run — Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday threw her support behind Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) in what is shaping up as a competitive 2024 Senate race in California if Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) chooses not to run.

Discussion: The Hill, HuffPost, CNBC, The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, USA Today, Politico, Fox News, Talking Points Memo, Los Angeles Times, CBS News, Washington Times, Sean Hannity and IJR

Laura Litvan / Bloomberg:
Pelosi Endorses Schiff Senate Run If Feinstein Bows Out

Discussion: The Hill and The Daily Caller

David Wasserman / Cook Political Report:

2024 House Race Ratings: Another Competitive Fight for Control — House Republicans enter the 2024 cycle with an infamously thin 222-213 majority and lots of questions about why they didn't perform better in 2022. But they have history on their side: despite the House flipping partisan …

Discussion: The Hill and Washington Examiner

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

McConnell pulls rival Rick Scott off powerful Commerce Committee — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has pulled Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who tried to oust him as the Senate's top Republican in a bruising leadership race, off the powerful Commerce Committee.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Florida's Voice, Breitbart, New York Post, Mediaite and Just The News

Houston Keene / Fox News:
Mike Lee, Rick Scott lose key committee seats, Scott blames McConnell

Discussion: Washington Times, The Floridian and Washington Examiner

NBC News:

Congress is off to a spectacularly slow start, and members fear it won't get better — WASHINGTON — The House, paralyzed for days, struggled to elect a speaker. The Senate is holding symbolic votes just to pass the time. America's most powerful lawmakers have been twiddling their thumbs …

Salvador Rizzo / Washington Post:

Former ABC News journalist charged in child pornography case — Federal prosecutors in Virginia have charged a former national security journalist for ABC News with a child pornography offense. — James Gordon Meek, a producer who covered wars, terrorism and major crimes for the network …

Jim Tankersley / New York Times:

Deese, Top Economic Aide to Biden, Will Step Down This Month — Brian Deese, the director of the National Economic Council, played a pivotal role in negotiating economic legislation the president signed in his first two years in office. — WASHINGTON — Brian Deese, who served …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, The White House, Associated Press, CBS News, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Nick Miroff / Washington Post:

Illegal border crossings fell sharply in January, U.S. figures show — Tighter restrictions applied by the Biden administration against migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti along the southern border last month led to a precipitous drop in the number of people from those countries crossing …

Discussion: Lucian Truscott Newsletter and The Hill

ProPublica:

“We're Still Gonna Say No”: Inside UnitedHealthcare's Effort to Deny Coverage to Chronically Ill Patient — Co-published with The Capitol Forum … In May 2021, a nurse at UnitedHealthcare called a colleague to share some welcome news about a problem the two had been grappling with for weeks.

Josh Kraushaar / Axios:

Inside the GOP's “Save the kids” strategy — The fractious Republican Party is consolidating around a “Protect the children” platform for 2024 that aggressively targets school policies on gender identity and how racial issues are taught. … - Much of the battle is being fought at the state …

Discussion: Reason, Just The News and Washington Times

Scott Bauer / Associated Press:

Lawsuit can proceed against Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse — A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled Wednesday that a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the father of a man shot and killed by Kyle Rittenhouse during a protest in 2020 can proceed against Rittenhouse, police officers and others.

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit and Courthouse News Service

Balázs Gulyás / The Bulwark:

How Rod Dreher Caused an International Scandal in Eastern Europe — Blogging and backtracking. — Last week, Rod Dreher, the American author now living in Hungary, caused a diplomatic scandal that has gone largely unnoticed in his home country. — Dreher's stay in Hungary is apparently financed …

Discussion: Postliberal Order and Politico

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

Americans Still Glum About State of the Union in Most Areas — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' assessment of the state of the nation remains in the pandemic-era slump seen since 2021, marked by subdued satisfaction with 30 different aspects of the country. These include the public's reaction …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and The Hill

NBC News:

Biden admin transfers a Guantanamo detainee to Belize — Majid Khan, a Pakistani citizen and Guantanamo's only known legal U.S. resident, arrived in Belize on Thursday. Two more detainees could leave the facility in Cuba soon. — The Biden administration transferred a detainee …

Discussion: Politico and New York Times

Hugh Hewitt / The Hugh Hewitt Show:

Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan On 2024 — Former Governor Larry Hogan joined me this AQM: — Audio: — 02-02hhs-hogan — Transcript: — HH: Joined by former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. Good morning, Governor. How are you? — LH: I'm doing great, Hugh. Thanks for having me.

Discussion: The Hill

Maxine Joselow / Washington Post:

The gas industry is under fire. It's hiring Democratic politicians to help. — Gas companies have enlisted prominent Democrats to convince liberal voters that the fuel is climate-friendly, documents show — At a time when many other Democrats fault natural gas for fueling climate change …

The Cut:

Do You Know How to Behave? Are You Sure? … THE NEW RULES FOR — Friends & Lovers — Strangers & Others — Going Out & Staying In — Tipping — Work — The City — Parenting — Posting & Texting — The ways we socialize and date …

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

White House outlines new investments to help families with kids fighting cancer — The White House on Thursday marked one year since President Biden relaunched the Cancer Moonshot initiative, announcing a series of new efforts to reduce cancer deaths and provide support to those getting treatment.

Discussion: Washington Examiner and The White House

Adam Cancryn / Politico:

Biden and McCarthy hold ‘first good’ meeting on debt ceiling, but ‘no agreements, no promises’ — President Joe Biden met Wednesday with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in search of a path to lifting the nation's debt ceiling — and averting the potential for an economic catastrophe.

Discussion: The Hill, Plain Dealer, NBC News, Robert Reich, Alabama Daily News, New York Post, Bloomberg, Fox News, CNBC, Raw Story, New York Daily News, CBS News, Washington Examiner, CNN and NPR

Jacqueline Sweet / Politico:

Feds probing Santos' role in service dog charity scheme — NEW YORK — FBI agents are investigating Rep. George Santos' role in an alleged GoFundMe scheme involving a disabled U.S. Navy veteran's dying service dog. — Two agents contacted former service member Richard Osthoff Wednesday …