memeorandum: Tim Scott, the Former G.O.P. Presidential Contender, Will Back Donald Trump (New York Times)

1:25 PM ET, January 19, 2024

Top Items:

The DeSantis Team Ran the Worst Campaign in History — The bizarre decisions behind a $130 million debacle. — Tim Pawlenty's and Scott Walker's presidential campaigns can breathe a sigh of relief. The mantle of Worst Republican Presidential Campaign Ever has been lifted from their shoulders …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Raw Story

New York Times:

Tim Scott, the Former G.O.P. Presidential Contender, Will Back Donald Trump — The former president and his allies had been privately courting Mr. Scott, hoping to win his endorsement before the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday. — Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina will endorse Donald J. Trump …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, CBS News, Axios, NBC News, Fox News, The Messenger, Washington Examiner, USA Today, ABC News, Bloomberg, Semafor, New York Post, Wide World of News, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, Political Wire and Vanity Fair

Marist Poll:

The Presidential Contest in New Hampshire — Marist New Hampshire Poll — Biden Would Best Trump, DeSantis in New Hampshire... Haley Would Edge Biden in the Granite State — In this Marist Poll of New Hampshire, President Joe Biden performs best against Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Politico, CBS News, The Messenger, NBC News, Florida Politics, The Federalist, Washington Examiner, Political Wire, KRDO, New York Magazine, The Dispatch and New York Times

David Siders / Politico:

Asa Hutchinson Still Believes the GOP Base Will Abandon Trump: 'It's Just a Question of When' — The former presidential candidate appreciated the White House apology he got this week. But he's a long way from supporting a Democrat. — Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson speaks during …

Discussion: Townhall and Digby's Hullabaloo

Mariana Alfaro / Washington Post:
Trump plays defense after Haley attacks his age

Discussion: Raw Story, The Wrap and HuffPost

Nicholas Nehamas / New York Times:
Ron DeSantis Is Quietly Starting to Build His Off-Ramp From 2024

Discussion: Orlando Sentinel, Political Wire, HuffPost, National Review, Raw Story, WFLA-TV, Politico, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller and New York Post

Politico:
Playbook: One crazy way to save a border deal

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, The Hill and Political Wire

J.T. Young / Washington Examiner:
What if Trump is acquitted in the courts?

Discussion: CBS News, UPI, The 19th and The Messenger

Marc Fortier / NBC Boston:
Trump slightly increases lead over Haley in NH, according to latest polling

Discussion: Breitbart, NBC News, New York Times, Washington Examiner, The Western Journal, New York Post, Florida Politics, HuffPost, One America News Network, The Hill and Financial Times

Elena Schneider / Politico:
Pro-Biden group raised $208M as Dems brace for tough election year

Discussion: Fox News, The Messenger and Political Wire

Sarah Grace Taylor / Politico:
Steve Garvey is running for Senate in California as a Republican — but don't ask about Trump

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, CNN, Semafor, KRON4, Mercury News, East Bay Times, Daily Kos and Washington Examiner

Michael Kranish / Washington Post:

Inside the breakup of Haley and Trump's partnership over her U.N. role — Nikki Haley began her time as U.S. ambassador to United Nations with diplomatic successes. Although she veered right on some issues to satisfy Trump, he attacks her as a ‘globalist’ in their primary fight.

Discussion: The Hill

United States House Committee on Oversight …:

Comer Statement on Transcribed Interview with Kevin Morris — WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) issued the following statement on today's transcribed interview with Kevin Morris, a Hollywood lawyer and Democrat donor:

Discussion: New Republic, Fox News, Rolling Stone, Breitbart, Raw Story, The Federalist, The Messenger, HuffPost and The Daily Caller

The Hill:
Attorney for Hunter Biden's benefactor accuses House GOP of misrepresenting testimony

Discussion: House Committee …, Wall Street Journal, The Western Journal, Fox News, Raw Story, Washington Examiner and New York Post

Stephen Neukam / The Messenger:
Hunter Biden Friend Tells Congress He Never Sought Favors for Loans to First Son

Discussion: NBC News, HotAir, Raw Story, HuffPost, The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner and Fox News

The White House:

Statement from President Joe Biden on Nearly $5 Billion in Additional Student Debt Cancellation for 74,000 Borrowers — Today, my Administration approved debt cancellation for another 74,000 student loan borrowers across the country, bringing the total number of people who have gotten …

Discussion: CBS News, New York Times, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Plain Dealer, The Daily Caller, UPI, USA Today, NBC News, Bloomberg, Business Insider, ED News and The Messenger

Jacob Knutson / Axios:
Biden forgives another $5 billion in student loans for 74k borrowers

Discussion: New York Post, Reason, CBS News, Fox Business, Fortune and Washington Times

Michael Schaffer / Politico:

How a Judge in India Prevented Americans From Seeing a Blockbuster Report — Free speech on the internet took a huge hit when the news agency Reuters took down an important hacking investigation to comply with an overseas legal challenge. — Two months ago, the news agency Reuters published …

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review

Tom Perkins / The Guardian:

Half of recent US inflation due to high corporate profits, report finds — Thinktank report says ‘resounding evidence’ shows companies continue to keep prices high even as their inflationary costs drop — A new report claims “resounding evidence” shows that high corporate profits …

Steve Benen / MSNBC:

Republican leaders forced to rely on Democrats to govern (again) — To prevent a government shutdown, Republican leaders grudgingly embraced the obvious solution they wanted to avoid: They relied on Democrats to govern. — As 2023 came to an end, and members of Congress wrapped up their work …

Discussion: Letters from an American, New York Times, NBC News, Florida Phoenix, PoliticusUSA and Washington Post

Kayla Gallagher / The Messenger:
Boebert Slams Spending Deal, Calls it ‘Pelosi-Esque’

Discussion: The Hill

Matt Gertz / Media Matters for America:

Media outlets making their own coverage decisions isn't “authoritarian” — Trump's call to take them off the air is — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is worried about creeping authoritarianism in the United States. Not from Donald Trump, whose presidential bid Rubio endorsed Sunday despite …

Discussion: The Hill, The Authoritarian Playbook …, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, The Guardian, Washington Examiner and Fox News

Lauren Irwin / The Hill:

House panel advances debt commission without shields for Medicare, Social Security — The House Budget Committee did not take measures to protect systems like Medicare and Social Security Thursday, despite advancing legislation to create a bipartisan fiscal commission designed to find a solution to the government's budget.

Discussion: Common Dreams, The U.S. House Committee …, PolitiFact, Social Security Works, National Review, Truthout, Roll Call, Raw Story, Associated Press, Washington Examiner and The Dispatch

Sky News:

Japan moon landing live: Japan's ‘sniper’ lands on moon - but tense moments as mission control waits to make contact — Japan has become the fifth country to land a spacecraft on the moon after its “sniper” probe touched down. But the control room is still waiting to make contact with the lander.

Discussion: NBC News, Reuters, TMZ.com, UPI, The Japan Times, Semafor, Associated Press, Fox Business, New York Times, KRDO, Bloomberg, NPR and The Messenger

Brad Dress / The Hill:

NATO admiral warns of potential all-out war with Russia — Top NATO official Adm. Rob Bauer warned Thursday that a larger war with Russia and other adversaries is a real threat amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. — Bauer, chair of the Western security alliance's Military Committee …

Discussion: NATO, The Messenger, Taipei Times, National Review, Metro.co.uk, New York Post, Axios, Los Angeles Times, KRDO, Al Jazeera, Sputnik News and The Atlantic

CNN:

Exclusive: Attorney General Merrick Garland says there should be ‘speedy trial’ of Trump as 2024 election looms — Attorney General Merrick Garland said in an interview with CNN that he believes there should be a “speedy trial” in the election subversion case against Donald Trump …

Discussion: NBC News, The Gateway Pundit, The Guardian, The Messenger, Twitchy, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, KRDO, Political Wire, New York Times, Washington Examiner, CNBC and Politico

Erum Salam / The Guardian:

Outrage as Oklahoma Republican's bill labels Hispanic people ‘terrorists’ — Lawmaker JJ Humphrey seeks punishments for ‘acts of terrorism’ and defines terrorist as ‘any person who is of Hispanic descent’ — An Oklahoma lawmaker is facing backlash for proposing a discriminatory bill …

Discussion: WFLA-TV and NBC News

Daily Mail:

Nikki Haley DID cheat on husband Michael - had affairs with her comms consultant and a MARRIED South Carolina lobbyist before she became governor, sworn affidavits and new witnesses claim — Nikki Haley, 51, denied claims she cheated on her husband Michael before she became South Carolina governor …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Political Wire

Maegan Vazquez / Washington Post:

McConnell, Republican lawmakers sign Supreme Court brief on keeping Trump on ballot — Nearly 180 congressional Republicans signed on to an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Donald Trump's legal battle to remain on the primary election ballot in Colorado.