memeorandum: Tex. hack may be first disruption of U.S. water system by Russia (Ellen Nakashima/Washington Post)

4:50 PM ET, April 17, 2024

Top Items:

Andrew Solender / Axios:

Incensed Democrats stoke GOP revolt against Mike Johnson … - Johnson “needs to make a decision,” one House Republican warned, adding that there is “a lot of frustration” in the GOP conference. … - Clark pointed to increasing indications from Republicans that they are prepared to start signing …

Discussion: HuffPost, Politico, Bangor Daily News, Wall Street Journal, CNN, CBS News, The Hill, Raw Story and Washington Examiner

Liz Peek / Fox News:

Marjorie Taylor Greene is an idiot. She is trying to wreck the GOP — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green needs to be clear about what's really at stake in 2024 — It's high time someone in the Republican Party told Marjorie Taylor Greene to turn all that bombastic self-serving showmanship …

Discussion: New Republic, The Hill, Mediaite, Raw Story, New York Post and Radio Prague International

Annie Karni / New York Times:

Johnson Needs Democrats on Ukraine, Handing Them Power to Shape Aid Plan — The Republican speaker's elaborate strategy for passing a foreign aid package over his party's objections will require the cooperation of Democrats to pass it — and possibly save his job.

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press, RedState, The Hill, Tangle, New York Daily News, Washington Examiner, Reason, Greensburg Tribune-Review, Axios, Washington Times and The Bulwark

Andrew Solender / Axios:

House Democrats to huddle on fate of foreign aid bills … - The Republican hardliners include three members of the House Rules Committee - enough to block the legislation from coming to the floor. — Several others have said they would vote against the “rule,” a procedural mechanism …

Discussion: Breitbart, Fox News and Semafor

Politico:
Biden gets behind Johnson's foreign aid plan

Discussion: Business Insider and Washington Times

CNN:
Johnson moving forward with Ukraine aid bill amid pressure from hardliners

Discussion: NPR and The Hill

Matthew Boyle / Breitbart:
Exclusive - MTG on Mike Johnson Speakership: 'It's Over - He's Just the Only One Who Hasn't Acknowledged It'

Discussion: Axios, CNN, PoliticusUSA, Alternet.org, The Daily Beast, Salon, Raw Story, BizPac Review, Washington Examiner, Must Read Alaska, Reason, UPI, Blaze Media, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Post

Kyle Kondik / Sabato's Crystal Ball:

Rating Changes: Arizona Senate and AZ-6 — KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — We're making a couple of rating changes today, both in Arizona. — The state's open-seat Senate race goes from Toss-up to Leans Democratic, and Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R, AZ-6) moves from Leans Republican to Toss-up.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Guardian, New Republic, Daily Caller News Foundation and The Hill

New York Times:

Arizona Republicans Again Block Effort to Repeal 1864 Abortion Ban — The state has been in turmoil since its Supreme Court upheld a near-total abortion ban dating back to the Civil War. — House Republicans in Arizona on Wednesday scuttled another effort to repeal the state's 1864 law banning abortion …

Discussion: The Hill, Axios, ABC News, Reuters, LifeNews.com, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Arizona Republic and Political Wire

Liz Crampton / Politico:
Combatting cannibalism and jailing librarians: Idaho Democrats see opportunity in extreme GOP agenda

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Raw Story

Laura Gersony / USA Today:
Kari Lake downplays 1864 abortion law, says Arizonans can travel ‘3 hours’ for procedure

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Arizona Mirror and Daily Kos

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Trump could have helped response to Jan. 6 riot — but didn't — per new testimony — Two senior leaders of the D.C. guard at the time of the Capitol attack painted a picture of the boost that never came, according to transcripts reviewed by POLITICO. — Donald Trump could have cleared …

Discussion: Daily Caller News Foundation, Raw Story, The Hill and CBS News

Scott Macfarlane / CBS News:
Democrats who investigated Trump say they expect to face arrest, retaliation if he wins presidency

Discussion: Mediaite, Donald J. Trump … and Raw Story

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senate votes to effectively dismiss first Mayorkas charge — The Senate voted along party lines Wednesday to sustain a point-of-order objection raised by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), effectively dismissing the first article of impeachment approved by the House accusing …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Fox News, RedState, UPI, Washington Times, Washington Post, CNN, NBC News, Committee on Homeland Security, Mediaite, WGN-TV, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, NPR and Axios

Mary Clare Jalonick / Associated Press:

Senate convenes Mayorkas impeachment trial as Democrats will seek a quick dismissal — The Senate on Wednesday opened the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, swearing in senators as jurors while Democrats said they wanted …

Amy B Wang / Washington Post:

Barr, a vocal Trump critic, says he will ‘support the Republican ticket’ in November — Former attorney general previously said voting for Trump would be “playing Russian roulette with the country,” but said Wednesday that a “continuation of the Biden administration is national suicide”

Discussion: Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Fox News, MSNBC, The Hill, Breitbart and Mediaite

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Trump campaign asks for cut of candidates' fundraising when they use his name and likeness — The campaign sent the letter as the former president is struggling to close a fundraising gap with Biden. — Former President Donald Trump's campaign has found a new way to press for badly needed cash.

Discussion: NBC News

J.D. Wolf / MeidasTouch:

Trump Alters National Review Article, Deletes That Affair Allegations Could Have “Torpedoed” His Campaign — Trump's manipulated article also attacks star witness Michael Cohen, a potential gag order violation — Trump has posted yet another one of his manipulated articles to Truth Social.

Bloomberg:

Trump Pushed to Embrace 17% Income Tax for All — Trump has not endorsed flat tax, but has called for levy cuts — Conservative economists regularly pitch Trump on tax ideas — Donald Trump is under pressure from economists in his circle to embrace a flat tax rate …

Aaron Rupar / Public Notice:

Why the Trump campaign is in deeper trouble than you think — Simon Rosenberg explains Trump's predicament and Biden's improving position. — ∙ Paid — 🇺🇸 Subscribe to Public Notice 🇺🇸 — I'm in Italy this week to speak on a panel about twitter …

Catherine Belton / Washington Post:

Secret Russian foreign policy document urges action to weaken the U.S. — Russia's Foreign Ministry has been drawing up plans to try to weaken its Western adversaries, including the United States, and leverage the Ukraine war to forge a global order free from what it sees as American dominance …

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo

Carl Gibson / Alternet.org:

'I don't think you're fit for this job': GA senator gives USPS chief DeJoy an ultimatum — U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy was raked over the coals on Tuesday in a hearing conducted by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, particularly by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia).

Discussion: Georgia Public Broadcasting and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Hailey Fuchs / Politico:

China lobbies Congress behind closed doors on TikTok, staffers say — After a bill that would force the sale of the company passed the House, diplomats from the Chinese Embassy met with Hill offices to push talking points defending the app. — The Chinese Embassy has held meetings …

Discussion: Bloomberg, New York Times, Washington Free Beacon, PJ Media, Deadline and Newsbusters

Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:

Tex. hack may be first disruption of U.S. water system by Russia — Happy Wednesday! National security reporter Ellen Nakashima here filling in for Cristiano and Will. Reach out with news tips at: ellen.nakashima@washpost.com. — In January, an alert citizen in Muleshoe, Tex. …

Discussion: The Register and Wired, more at Techmeme »

Barak Ravid / Axios:

Israel considered striking Iran on Monday but decided to wait, officials say … - “We are not sure why and how close it was to an actual attack,” a U.S. official said. … - A third U.S. official said a “small Israeli strike” inside Iran would likely trigger an Iranian retaliation.

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times and The Times of Israel

Brady Knox / Washington Examiner:

Arrest warrant issued for Democratic state Pennsylvania lawmaker — An arrest warrant was issued for Pennsylvania state Rep. Kevin Boyle, according to multiple reports, with the Democratic lawmaker having been in trouble with the law previously. — On Tuesday, an arrest warrant was issued …

Discussion: CBS News, American Military News, NBC10 Philadelphia, RedState, USA Today, The Daily Caller, 6abc, IJR and New York Daily News

Washington Post:

Trump rails against wind energy in fundraising pitch to oil executives — At a Mar-a-Lago dinner, Donald Trump doubles down on promises to derail a key form of clean energy that competes with fossil fuels — Former president Donald Trump repeatedly ranted about wind power during …

Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:

Former ‘Real Housewives’ star Siggy Flicker's stepson arrested on Jan. 6 charges — Tyler Campanella, the stepson of “Siggy” Flicker, was arrested more than three years after the reality star posted images that Campanella apparently shot inside the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Discussion: The Daily Beast and The Hill

Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:

Comer: Criminal referrals in Biden probe could come ‘within weeks’ — House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that criminal referrals stemming from his investigation into President Biden could come “within weeks” even as he cautioned that “impeachment is still on the table.”

Discussion: Alternet.org, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Raw Story, PoliticusUSA, Mediaite, IJR, Fox News and Associated Press

Rafael Bernal / The Hill:

John Leguizamo on Trump's Latino support: 'He doesn't like us, and he doesn't want us here' — Actor John Leguizamo obliterated a small horse piñata while reciting a thorough catalogue of Spanish-language profanities on “The Daily Show” Tuesday in response to a New York Times/Siena poll …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Breitbart, Newsbusters, Fox News and Mediaite

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

Meet the people spending $800,000 or more to make Trump the next president — Donald Trump tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election, was recently found liable for sexual assault, and has been charged with 88 felonies. Trump is currently spending four days a week at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse.