Top Items:
Washington Post:
GOP unites in brinkmanship over default, rejecting Biden compromises — Several House Republican lawmakers have begun casting doubt on the Treasury Department's deadline for averting a financial crisis — During a closed meeting Tuesday morning at a GOP hangout a block from the U.S. Capitol …
Discussion:
USA Today, New York Times, American Prospect, Fortune, Washington Examiner, CNN and CNBC
RELATED:
Politico:
White House believes up to 100 Dem votes may be needed on debt ceiling deal — The prospect of needing so many votes from within the party has begun to color Biden's negotiating strategy. — White House aides privately estimate they may need to deliver as many as 100 Democratic votes …
Discussion:
American Prospect and The Dispatch
Monmouth University Polling Institute:
Clean Debt Deal Preferred by 2:1 — Few say dire predictions from default are exaggerated — West Long Branch, NJ - Half of Americans say the debt ceiling issue should be dealt with cleanly, while just 1 in 4 want to tie it to federal spending negotiations, according to the Monmouth ("Mon-muth") University Poll.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, NBC News, PoliticusUSA, CNN and Political Wire
Dan Pfeiffer / The Message Box:
Debt Limit Update: The GOP Admits to Extortion — The media continues to normalize dangerously abnormal GOP behavior. — Kevin McCarthy is not known for much. Sure, he became Speaker, but he got there by being morally pliable and shameless enough to debase himself into a job no one else wanted.
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Examiner, Joe.My.God. and Washington Times
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
McCarthy's office has not met with Chamber during debt ceiling fight — The Chamber says it doesn't want to waste the Speaker's time. But the two sides have not yet reconciled from their Trump era disputes. — The main business lobby in politics has not made contact with the House speaker's office …
Washington Post:
Democrats angry at debt limit messaging — Good morning, Early Birds. Please send intriguing news tips and your favorite TikToks in the style of Wes Anderson to earlytips@washpost.com. Thanks for waking up with us. — Reading this online? Sign up for The Early 202 to get scoops …
Discussion:
NBC News, Breitbart, Alternet.org, Semafor and Wall Street Journal
Joseph Zeballos-Roig / Semafor:
Matt Gaetz embraces role as hostage taker as House leaders brace for debt limit fallout — The News — Republicans have often bristled at accusations that they are resorting to hostage tactics by refusing to raise the federal debt ceiling without securing spending cuts.
Discussion:
The Hill, Democrats, Mock Paper Scissors, Bloomberg, HuffPost, Joe.My.God., New Republic, Raw Story, Alternet.org and PoliticusUSA
Charlie Mahtesian / Politico:
Ron DeSantis Has a Problem. It's Florida. — There's a reason the state has never sent a politician to the White House. — Ron DeSantis is set to join the 2024 campaign amid high Republican hopes that he's precisely the kind of conservative who can knock off President Joe Biden.
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
RELATED:
Jonathan V. Last / The Triad:
Tiny-D Energy — Ron DeSantis and the history of presidential primary comebacks. — ∙ Paid — 1. Comebacks — I want to take a walk through history to illustrate the fact that presidential primary comebacks happen. And then to explain why I think a DeSantis comeback is not the most likely outcome.
Rolling Stone:
Trump's Secret Weapon to ‘Ratf-ck’ DeSantis — The ex-president has joked about “anti-woke” entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy running for president as a way to audition for a slot in a potential second Trump term: “Does he want a job?” — IN HIS BATTLE against Ron DeSantis for the 2024 nomination …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and NBC News
Ariel Edwards-Levy / CNN:
CNN Poll: Trump leads 2024 GOP primary field, but many voters are open to supporting other candidates
CNN Poll: Trump leads 2024 GOP primary field, but many voters are open to supporting other candidates
Discussion:
Political Wire, Breitbart and Reuters
New York Times:
DeSantis Allies' $200 Million Plan for Beating Trump
DeSantis Allies' $200 Million Plan for Beating Trump
Discussion:
OpenSecrets.org, NBC News, Washington Examiner, Semafor, Florida's Voice and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Ron DeSantis: A Strongman Who Isn't Dumb
Ron DeSantis: A Strongman Who Isn't Dumb
Discussion:
CNN, Insider and Las Vegas Review-Journal
J. David Goodman / New York Times:
G.O.P. Split in Texas Breaks Wide Open With Drunkenness Accusation — Attorney General Ken Paxton's accusation against the House speaker came as the House investigated Mr. Paxton's request for $3.3 million to settle a suit accusing him of corruption. — Reporting from Houston
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The Texas Tribune:
Investigators detail years of alleged misconduct by Texas AG Ken Paxton in stunning House committee hearing — Many allegations against Paxton were already known, but the airing of them revealed the scope of the investigation by the committee, which has the power to recommend censure or impeachment.
Discussion:
KXAN-TV, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller, Washington Times and Political Wire
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times:
As staff shield Feinstein from the press, a picture really is worth a thousand words — Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It's Wednesday, May 24. I'm Kent Nishimura, a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times based out of Washington. I cover politics and national news.
Discussion:
Insider
Washington Post:
The deepening radicalization of Donald J. Trump — Watch how the former president's positions and rhetoric have grown more confrontational and extreme as he seeks a second term — In the immediate aftermath of Jan. 6, 2021, President Donald Trump stayed mostly silent …
Discussion:
Media Matters for America and Raw Story
RELATED:
CNN:
Out of the spotlight, Mark Meadows wields quiet political power amid Trump legal woes — In January, as Kevin McCarthy fought to win the House speakership through 15 rounds of grinding votes and late-night sessions at the Capitol, a few blocks away a group of right-wing holdouts huddled …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Anne D'innocenzio / Associated Press:
Target removes some LGBTQ merchandise from stores ahead of June Pride month after threats to workers — Target is removing certain items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month, after an intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers.
Discussion:
ABC News, Forbes, Plain Dealer, HotAir, Al Jazeera, Fox News, New York Post, The Hill, NBC News, Erin In The Morning, The Daily Caller, Hollywood Life, TheBlaze, KTLA, Trending Politics Conservative, CBS News, Metro.co.uk, RedState, IJR, Semafor, Big League Politics, Quartz, MyStateline.com, Rolling Stone, Joe.My.God., al.com, The Daily Beast, The Messenger, KRON4, The Western Journal, Reuters, Twitchy, Political Wire, National Review, The Daily Dot, The Post Millennial, New York Daily News, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Alpha News and American Greatness
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Target's Pride collection features ‘tuck-friendly’ swimsuits for adults, not kids
Target's Pride collection features ‘tuck-friendly’ swimsuits for adults, not kids
Discussion:
VICE, Washington Post, FOX8 WGHP, Politico, Gizmodo, Twitchy, Mediaite, Fox News, NBC News, The Daily Dot, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, New York Post, BizPac Review, PolitiFact and Just The News
Olafimihan Oshin / The Hill:
Amanda Gorman says her inaugural poem has been banned by Miami-Dade school — American poet Amanda Gorman said on Tuesday that the poem she recited during President Biden's inauguration has been banned by a school in Miami-Dade County. — “I'm gutted. Because of one's parent's complaint …
Discussion:
Insider, Politico, UPI, Los Angeles Times, NBC News, The Guardian, Mock Paper Scissors, TMZ.com, BBC, Miami Herald, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Twitchy, The Root, The Messenger, USA Today, Daily Kos, The Wrap, New York Daily News, TIME, Political Wire, Rolling Stone, Variety, personnelente and Washington Press
RELATED:
Public Notice:
How Twitter became a haven for climate misinformation — “The intention is to create a perception that denial is far more widespread than it actually is,” Michael Mann tells us. — ∙ Paid … On World Meteorological Day in March, the UN Climate Change Twitter account posted …
RELATED:
Ned Oliver / Axios:
Scoop: Myrna Morrissey files for divorce — Myrna Morrissey initiated divorce proceedings against Sen. Joe Morrissey last week. … - Joe Morrissey denied the allegations in the filing. … - He was 55, and she was 17 when they met. — Former Gov. Ralph Northam pardoned him last year before leaving office.
Discussion:
Blue Virginia and Political Wire
J. David Goodman / New York Times:
Bill to Force Texas Public Schools to Display Ten Commandments Fails — A Republican effort to bring religion into classrooms faltered, though lawmakers were poised to allow chaplains to act as school counselors. — Reporting from Houston — A push to inject religion …
Discussion:
The Hill, Progress Pond, The Guardian, The Texas Tribune, Joe.My.God., Fox News, NewsNation, The Daily Caller, The Messenger and Washington Post
RELATED:
Meredith Deliso / ABC News:
Alex Murdaugh indicted on federal fraud charges — A grand jury returned a 22-count indictment against the disgraced lawyer. — A grand jury has indicted convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced South Carolina attorney, on federal fraud charges, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
National Review:
The Dodgers Promote Anti-Catholicism — When businesses celebrate various identity groups among their customers and employees, it can easily descend into cloying and opportunistic pandering. But it is mostly harmless, in the way that drinking green beer on St. Patrick's Day or wearing plastic sombreros on Cinco de Mayo is harmless.
Discussion:
LA Catholics, BizPac Review, American Greatness, RedState, Fox News, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Twitchy and Breitbart
Jason Koebler / VICE:
Emails Show SpaceX Bungled Elon Musk's Private Jet Privacy — FOIA docs reveal that SpaceX enrolled Elon Musk's jet in a federal program to prevent tracking, failed to implement it properly, then asked for help during the @ElonJet meltdown. — Jason Koebler
Discussion:
Associated Press
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Why aren't we talking more about Trump's business with the Saudis? — The Republican-led House Oversight Committee has spent most of the past five months hard at work trying to link “the Biden family” (read: relatives of President Biden but not Biden himself) to millions of dollars proffered …
Jordan Fischer / wusa9.com:
Former Army Ranger turned ‘against his own country’ on Jan. 6, DOJ says — Robert Morss, of Pennsylvania, was convicted of three felony counts for his role in the assault on police in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel. — WASHINGTON — A federal judge will decide Wednesday whether …
Discussion:
Politico, Associated Press, The Hill and Wall Street Journal
Ian Millhiser / Vox:
Trump's worst judge will hear a $1.8 billion attack on Planned Parenthood — Remember that guy who tried to ban mifepristone? He's back. — Remember Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk? Last month, Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee to a federal court in Texas, tried to remove mifepristone …
Discussion:
Alternet.org
New York Times:
Driver's Licenses, Addresses, Photos: Inside How TikTok Shares User Data — Employees of the Chinese-owned video app have regularly posted user information on a messaging and collaboration tool called Lark, according to internal documents. — In August 2021, TikTok received a complaint …
Discussion:
The Messenger and Daily Montanan, more at Techmeme »
Edward Luce / Financial Times:
Beware Elon Musk's warped libertarianism — The billionaire entrepreneur's AI initiative is disturbing in light of his selective approach to political and civic freedoms — Future generations might say that the big event of 2023 was when Elon Musk thought of TruthGPT — the “maximum truth-seeking AI” he plans to launch.
Discussion:
Forbes
Axios:
Musk moves in on Murdoch — Elon Musk has displaced Rupert Murdoch and Fox News as the king of conservative media in recent weeks. … But the right-wing ecosystem has turned on the network, leaving Twitter as the center of media gravity for the Republican Party just as the 2024 election heats up.
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, The Hill, Vox, The Atlantic, Insider, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, The Guardian, BGR and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »
Bobbi Dempsey / The Guardian:
Republican debt ceiling plans could see most vulnerable Americans lose aid — GOP attempt to add work requirements to safety net programs such as Medicaid and Snap could harm families already struggling — As debt ceiling negotiations come down to the wire with the 1 June deadline looming …
Discussion:
The Hill
Charlie Sykes / Morning Shots:
Meatball's Musk Moment — Well, we have our soundtrack for the day. … -Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody” — Happy Wednesday. — Morning Shots is a reader-supported newsletter. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Discussion:
Politico, Puck, Raw Story, National Review, Chicago Tribune, Quartz, Washington Post, Mashable, Mediaite and NBC New York