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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Washington on April 20, 2023.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Washington on April 20, 2023.Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP file

Friday’s Mini-Report, 5.26.23

Today’s edition of quick hits.

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Today’s edition of quick hits.

* Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote to congressional leaders this afternoon, giving them a new x-date: “Based on the most recent available data, we now estimate that Treasury will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government’s obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5.”

* Jessica Watkins described herself as an “idiot” during the proceedings: “A military veteran who stormed the U.S. Capitol with the Oath Keepers on Jan. 6 was sentenced to 8½ years in federal prison Friday after apologizing for her actions. Jessica Watkins told U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta that her actions were ‘reprehensible,’ and apologized for the impact that her conduct had on the country.”

* I hope the White House knows what it’s doing: “Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said today that Biden would not use the 14th Amendment to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling, marking the administration’s most explicit rejection of the proposal.”

* Paxton appears to be in real trouble: “A Texas House committee on Thursday unanimously voted to recommend that state Attorney General Ken Paxton be impeached and removed from office. The state House of Representatives could vote on the recommendation as soon as Friday.”

* It doesn’t have to be this way: “Hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans have lost Medicaid coverage in recent weeks as part of a sprawling unwinding of a pandemic-era policy that prohibited states from removing people from the program. Early data shows that many people lost coverage for procedural reasons, such as when Medicaid recipients did not return paperwork to verify their eligibility or could not be located.”

* The consequences of the Jack Teixeira case: “The Pentagon’s police force has increased security measures to ensure classified information is not being taken out, including random screenings as personnel and guests leave. The screenings include uniformed officers checking bags.”

* Mark your calendars: “The House Judiciary Committee will hear public testimony from former special counsel John Durham about his probe into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation on June 21, two sources familiar with the committee’s plans told NBC News.”

* Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke really ought to know this stuff: “In a letter this month to top Biden administration officials, Zinke and fellow Montana Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale confused the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service, two agencies within the Interior Department. Zinke served as secretary of the Interior Department under former President Donald Trump for nearly two years, until he resigned under a cloud of scandal in early 2019.”

Have a safe holiday weekend.