Politics

Axios reports: President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg will be among the speakers at House Democrats’ annual retreat next week. Democratic lawmakers will use the event, known formally as an “issues conference,” to craft their case for retaking the House majority ahead of the 2024 election season. Harris will open the retreat on Wednesday …

The New York Daily News reports: Early voting started Saturday in the heated congressional special election to pick a successor to disgraced ex-Rep. George Santos for a Long Island swing seat that could further reduce the already razor-thin GOP majority in the House of Representatives. Democratic ex-Rep. Tom Suozzi is battling upstart Republican Mazi Melesa Pilip in an unusual mid-winter …

The New York Times reports: The New York Police Department robot sat motionless like a sad Wall-E on Friday morning, gathering dust inside an empty storefront within New York City’s busiest subway station. No longer were its cameras scanning straphangers traversing Times Square. No longer were subway riders pressing its help button, if ever they had. New York City has …

The Washington Post reports: Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) admitted she had a personal relationship with an outside prosecutor she appointed to manage the election interference case against former president Donald Trump and his allies but denied claims that the relationship had tainted the proceedings. In a 176-page court filing on Friday, Willis called the claims against …

The Associated Press reports: A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers are urging Hungary to immediately ratify Sweden’s application to join NATO, saying patience with the Central European country is “wearing thin” as it continues to delay its approval for the Nordic nation. Hungary is the only country in the 31-nation military alliance that hasn’t yet backed Sweden’s membership bid, and …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis apparently isn’t worried about votes from vegetarians, given comments in Bowling Green in which he wove a preemptive defense of meat during an attack on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG). “I know the Legislature is doing a bill to try to protect our meat. You need meat, OK? And we’re going to have …

Raw Story reports: Several Democratic National Committee officials and at least one analyst point to data that says the RNC just had the worst fundraising year in three decades. “This is horrifying,” declared Tyler Bowyer, an RNC National Committeeman and official at Charlie Kirk’s right-wing Turning Point USA. “Worst fundraising year for RNC in 30 years. They’re asking for a …

Florida Politics reports: Just hours after announcing that he was sending his State Guard to Texas, along with National Guard troops and state troopers, the Governor told friendly interviewer Sean Hannity that he was ready to deploy them even farther away. “But if California actually wants to stop people coming across the border, I’m happy to send to California as …

Politico reports: The president has described Trump to longtime friends and close aides as a “sick fuck” who delights in others’ misfortunes, according to three people who have heard the president use the profane description. According to one of the people who has spoken with the president, Biden recently said of Trump: “What a fucking asshole the guy is.” Biden …

The Miami Herald reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday announced he is sending members of the Florida State Guard, a civilian military force under his control, and other state resources to the U.S.-Mexico border to help Texas stop what he called an “invasion.” “The goal is to help Texas fortify this border, help them strengthen the barricades, help them …

The Oregon Capitol Chronicle reports: In a unanimous decision, the court rejected arguments from five Republican senators that Measure 113, a voter-approved 2022 law meant to dissuade lawmakers from walking out and shutting down the legislative process, was poorly worded and would give them another term in office. Instead, the court agreed with state attorneys, who urged justices to consider …

Florida Politics reports: A bill capping the level of delta-9 THC in the event voters decide to legalize adult-use marijuana moved forward by a 13-4 vote in its first House stop in the Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee. In processed substances, such as vapes, shatter and wax, the cap would be 60% delta-9 THC if this bill passes. For practical purposes, that …

“After consulting with federal and local prosecutors, as well as doing a comprehensive investigation and review of possible charges, it was determined that — despite a likely violation of Congressional policy — there is currently no evidence that a crime was committed. “Although the hearing room was not open to the public at the time, the Congressional staffer involved had …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing five cities — Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin and Denton — to block their ordinances decriminalizing low-level marijuana possession. In 2022, voters in the five cities approved policies that would end arrests and citations for possession of less than four ounces of marijuana. An initiative spearheaded by Ground Game …

Politico reports: New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy raised $3.2 million for her Senate campaign to replace indicted Sen. Bob Menendez, nearly doubling the amount her chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Rep. Andy Kim, in the last quarter of 2023. In fourth quarter filings with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday, Kim’s campaign had raised a total of $2.77 …

NBC News reports: Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, cast doubt Wednesday on passing a bipartisan tax bill, saying it could make President Joe Biden “look good” and improve Democrats’ chances of holding the White House in the 2024 election. Grassley said re-electing Biden could hurt Republican hopes of extending Trump-era tax cuts. “Passing a tax bill that makes the president look …

The Daily Beast reports: Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) stunningly claimed that babies in Gaza killed during Israel’s war against Hamas are “not innocent Palestinian civilians,” video shows. Members of Codepink, a feminist anti-war group, confronted Mast on Tuesday, with one accusing the lawmaker of being “heartless.” “You haven’t seen the pictures of all the babies being killed?” Mast is asked …

CNN reports: The House voted on Wednesday evening to pass a $78 billion bipartisan tax package that would temporarily expand the child tax credit and restore a number of business tax benefits. The bill will next go to the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson currently oversees a razor-thin majority, but the bill passed with rare bipartisan support. The vote was …

ABC News reports: “If Texas decides they want to do that, they can do that,” Nikki Haley said in a Wednesday radio interview. “If that whole state says, ‘We don’t want to be part of America anymore,’ I mean, that’s their decision to make,” Haley said, though she also noted, “Let’s talk about what’s reality. Texas isn’t going to secede.” …

The New York Times reports: In a victory for Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a federal judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit filed by the Walt Disney Company claiming that Mr. DeSantis and his allies violated the First Amendment by taking over a special tax district that encompasses Walt Disney World. Disney said it planned to appeal the ruling. …