memeorandum: Our border deal whip count: It's halfway to getting blocked (Politico)

7:20 AM ET, February 6, 2024

Top Items:

Border-for-Ukraine deal on life support as GOP opposition mounts — House speaker calls it ‘DEAD’ while GOP senators start to defect en masse ahead of Wednesday vote — A bipartisan package of border reforms and funding for Ukraine and Israel appeared close to collapse on Monday …

Discussion: Reuters, Boston Herald, Fox News, Axios, The Hill, The Spectator World, Bloomberg, Business Insider, Fargo | KFGO, New York Daily News, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Washington Examiner and Forbes

Nicole Narea / Vox:

Democrats are trying to pass a right-wing border bill, but the GOP won't let them — Senate negotiations revealed what some Democrats are willing to give up on immigration in 2024. — A bipartisan group of Senate negotiators has reached a $118 billion deal that trades sweeping border security measures …

Discussion: Power Line, UPI, The Federalist, Fox News, The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, Los Angeles Times, Off Message, CNN and ABC News

Igor Bobic / HuffPost:

In Huge Reversal, GOP Poised To Kill The Border-Ukraine Package It Demanded — Republican Sen. James Lankford, who spent months negotiating the border provisions the GOP demanded, said he may vote against his own bill this week. — LOADING — WASHINGTON ― Senate Republicans …

Discussion: Punchbowl News, RedState, NBC News, Semafor, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, NPR and HotAir

Politico:

Playbook: ‘Everything is dead’ — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — JUST POSTED — “Is Antony Blinken Too Nice to be Secretary of State?” by Nahal Toosi: “The secretary of State has shown ... quiet fury in private these last few months …

Discussion: Bloomberg and Washington Examiner

William Vaillancourt / The Daily Beast:

Trump Now Falsely Claims He Didn't Endorse Immigration Bill Co-Author — Oklahoma Senator James Lankford, who helped draw up the immigration bill that Trump hates, received Trump's “Complete and Total Endorsement” in 2022. — Donald Trump said during an interview Monday that he did not endorse …

Discussion: Raw Story, HuffPost, DNyuz, Mercury News, Rolling Stone and The Hill

Politico:

Our border deal whip count: It's halfway to getting blocked — Presented by With assists from POLITICO's Congress team — MAKE OR BREAK TIME FOR BORDER DEAL — Senate negotiators have two days to get to 60 votes on their $118 billion-plus proposal to pair major immigration policy changes with aid to Ukraine and Israel.

Discussion: Associated Press

NBC News:

Trump says he wants to debate Biden — The Republican National Committee decided in 2022 to withdraw from the quadrennial events set up by the Commission on Presidential Debates. — Former President Donald Trump said Monday that he wants to debate President Joe Biden ahead of November's general election.

Discussion: CNBC, Axios, Raw Story, RedState, One America News Network, HuffPost, New York Post, DNyuz, Fargo | KFGO, The Hill, Washington Times, Political Wire and Greensburg Tribune-Review

Politico:
Detention and that border ‘shutdown’: What's really in Biden's bipartisan immigration deal

Axios:
Trump activates MAGA caucus to kill Senate border deal, weaken McConnell

Discussion: Raw Story, The American Spectator, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, Business Insider, The Federalist, RedState and The Hill

Julie Tsirkin / NBC News:
As conservatives balk, U.S. Border Patrol union endorses Senate immigration deal

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Hill, MeidasTouch, New York Post, Mediaite and Fox News

Politico: Dems gear up for final stretch on judges — worrying they won't catch Trump

Mychael Schnell / The Hill:
Speaker Johnson: Border bill is ‘even worse than we expected’

Discussion: Axios, Politico, BizPac Review, Deseret News, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, ABC News, DNyuz, National Review, The Maine Wire, Forbes, IJR, Sacramento Bee, HotAir, The Daily Caller, The Dispatch, PoliticusUSA, Twitchy, Breitbart, Washington Post and NBC News

John McCormick / Wall Street Journal:

Nikki Haley Asks for Secret Service Protection After Increase in Threats — Former South Carolina governor is final hurdle between Trump and the Republican presidential nomination — AIKEN, S. C.—Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has applied for Secret Service protection …

Discussion: HuffPost, HotAir, UPI, DNyuz, Associated Press, ABC News, NBC News, Forbes, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Axios, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Washington Times and Political Wire

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Nikki Haley Raises $16.5 Million, Fueling Her Fight Against Trump

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, Bloomberg and WBTW-TV

Sean Coughlan / BBC:

King Charles III diagnosed with cancer, Buckingham Palace says — King Charles has been diagnosed with a form of cancer, says Buckingham Palace. — The type of cancer has not been revealed - it is not prostate cancer, but was discovered during his recent treatment for an enlarged prostate.

Matt Honeycombe-Foster / Politico:
King Charles III has cancer

Discussion: NBC News, BBC, TASS, The Republic News, El País, DNyuz, Washington Examiner, Al Jazeera, CBS News, Fargo | KFGO, Associated Press, Politico, The Times of Israel, The Hill, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, Page Six and Kyodo News+

Sandra Fish / The Colorado Sun:

Lauren Boebert gets restraining order against her ex-husband — U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert asked for and received a temporary restraining order Friday against her ex-husband, Jayson Boebert. — The order also covers three of the former couple's four sons. — In requesting the order …

Discussion: Denver Post, Associated Press, DNyuz, New York Post, Washington Examiner, HuffPost, Raw Story and New York Daily News

Sheila Flynn / The Independent:
Lauren Boebert abandoned her district and voters are rejoicing

Discussion: Raw Story

Jennifer McRae / CBS News:
Lauren Boebert granted restraining order against ex-husband in Colorado

Discussion: DNyuz and Political Wire

Miranda Nazzaro / The Hill:

Biden appears to mix up Macron with French president Mitterrand, who died in 1996 — President Biden on Sunday appeared to mix up French President Emmanuel Macron with Francois Mitterrand, the former president of France who died in 1996. — The apparent mix-up took place during …

Discussion: Fox News, The Times of Israel, DNyuz, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, Washington Examiner and Mediaite

The White House:
Remarks by President Biden at a Campaign Event | Las Vegas, NV

Discussion: HuffPost and New York Post

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Chutkan contemplates Trump trial extending deep into 2024, as case remains in limbo — It was the judge's first acknowledgment that Trump's federal trial could could extend into the general election. — The judge presiding over Donald Trump's Washington, D.C. criminal case acknowledged Monday …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, New Republic, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, Political Wire, Forbes and Raw Story

CNN:
CNN Poll: Most Americans want verdict on Trump election subversion charges before 2024 vote

Discussion: Raw Story, NBC News, Politico, The Hill, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Guardian and Political Wire

Jordan Rubin / MSNBC:

Why Jack Smith wants to ‘clear the air’ in the classified documents case — Donald Trump “paints an inaccurate and distorted picture of events,” the special counsel tells Judge Aileen Cannon. Will she care? — Though the classified documents case is playing out partly behind closed doors …

Discussion: Raw Story, One America News Network, DNyuz and Mediaite

Rick Reilly / Washington Post:

Look who moved in Nextdoor: another spying, suspicious, paranoid snoop — Are you bummed you weren't around when the Stasi ruled? Do you wish you could've been one of Mao Zedong's millions of neighborhood snitches? Maybe watch the Red Guards drag off your least favorite aunt?

Nick Corasaniti / New York Times:

Larry David Breaks Georgia's Voting Law in ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ — Comedy's crankiest star usually breaks social norms. This time, he ran afoul of voting legislation passed in Georgia in 2021. — Television comedies like “Veep” and “Parks and Recreation” have long poked fun …

Discussion: Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Raw Story

Raymond Zhong / New York Times:

Scientists Use Sea Sponges to Study Global Warming Back to 1700 — Research on a long-lived but rarely seen species in the Caribbean is helping scientists piece together a revised history of climate change. — Since the dawn of the industrial age, our species has warmed the planet …

Discussion: Grist, Associated Press, DNyuz and NBC News

Garrett Epps / Washington Monthly:

It's Not Just the Border: The Trump-Abbott-Republican Nullification Crisis Is Here — Not since the meek accountant in the back of the courtroom leapt up and screamed, “Stop, Perry Mason! I did it! I killed him, and I'm GLAD!” has a suspect been quite so eager to confess his crimes as Donald J. Trump.

Discussion: HuffPost