Thursday's Mini-Report, 1.21.21
Today's edition of quick hits.
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GOP's Kevin McCarthy plays fast and loose with recent events
Last week, McCarthy conceded Trump "bears responsibility" for helping instigate the deadly insurrectionist attack. Today, he said largely the opposite.
Team Biden says Trump's COVID plan was worse than they realized
"There is nothing for us to rework," one member of Team Biden was quoted saying. "We are going to have to build everything from scratch."
Thursday's Campaign Round-Up, 1.21.21
Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
Unemployment claims improve, but remain painfully high
It's a bad sign when a report showing 900,000 initial claims is seen as an improvement, but last week's report was the worst since August.
Rand Paul outraged by the wrong part of Biden's inaugural address
Rand Paul heard Joe Biden denounce political extremists, and for reasons he did not explain, the senator took offense.
What we learned from Team Biden's first Senate confirmation vote
Several Senate Republicans voted against Avril Haines for DNI, but voted to confirm John Ratcliffe to the same gig. That's bonkers
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MaddowBlog continued...
The one label Trump was desperate to avoid becomes unavoidable
As a candidate, Donald Trump told Americans we'd tire of all the winning. As his term ends in a half-hour, one wonders if he's tired of all the losing.
Trump secures his place as the nation's worst ever president
Our worst-presidents-in-history lists "need to be recalibrated now to account for the new undisputed king of that category."
In farewell address, Trump describes an unrecognizable term
On his first day in office, Trump lied about rain at his inauguration. On his last day in office, he again asked people not to believe their lying eyes.
In the middle of the night, Trump takes step to refill the swamp
In the middle of the night, Trump undid his own policy, taking fresh steps to refill the swamp by launching new lobbying careers, starting tomorrow.
The thematic perfection of Trump's 11th-hour pardon for Bannon
Donald Trump and Steve Bannon share a kinship: they both exploited the same group of unsuspecting conservative voters, selling the same con.
Why it matters that Trump's pollution plan just got upended in court
The ACE Rule was the centerpiece of Trump's climate, energy and deregulatory agenda. And as of this morning, it's dead.
Tuesday's Campaign Round-Up, 1.19.21
Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
As Dems prepare to govern, bolstering democracy is a top priority
As a political matter, it's heartening to see the incoming Democratic majority make strengthening our democracy such a priority.
Joe Biden to take office with an empty cabinet
As one political scientist put it, "I can't think of a worse time to have our executive branch so understaffed."
An elections-have-consequences moment for regulating Wall Street
Trump insisted on weak oversight of Wall Street and the financial industry. Biden is eager to do the opposite.
Why did Team Trump vow to release non-existent vaccine supplies?
Administration officials announced they'd make all of their coronavirus vaccine supply available immediately. The trouble is, the reserves didn't exist.
Republican operative being installed as the NSA's top lawyer
Why did Team Trump scramble to install a Republican operative and Trump loyalist as the National Security Agency's top lawyer?
Calls increase to cut off Trump's access to sensitive intelligence
Should Trump have intelligence access after he leaves office? Since he's "a classic counterintelligence risk," this isn't an especially tough call.
Friday's Mini-Report, 1.15.21
Today's edition of quick hits.
Capitol Police examining whether lawmakers assisted rioters
With all the focus on Trump's possible criminal liability for the riot, it's worth noting he may not be the only politician with something to worry about.