Separately, Biden pledged Friday “to act fast” on securing passage of his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, making clear that he and Democrats in Congress are willing to move forward without Republican support. He pointed to a disappointing jobs report for January to argue that the cost of the legislation is justified.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) held a combative news conference, responding to a House vote Thursday to remove her from her committee assignments as a rebuke for espousing extremist beliefs. She said committee service was a “waste of my time” and she would now have more time to promote her conservative views.
Here’s what to know:
Lincoln Project parts ways with second co-founder in a week with another biting statement
Return to menuAnother co-founder of the Lincoln Project, a group of high-profile Republicans who opposed Trump and rose to prominence last year campaigning against him with viral video ads, is leaving the organization amid apparent acrimony.
Jennifer Horn, a former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party, told the New York Times earlier Friday that she was resigning from the Lincoln Project because of concerns about how the group managed allegations about John Weaver, another co-founder who has been accused of making unsolicited sexual overtures to young men and at least one 14-year-old boy. The Lincoln Project issued a statement Sunday disavowing Weaver, who has said he is not returning to the group.
“John Weaver’s grotesque and inappropriate behavior, coupled with his long-standing deceptions concerning that behavior, are sickening,” Horn told the Times. “It is clear at this point that my views about how the Lincoln Project’s efforts are managed, and the best way to move the Lincoln Project forward into the future in the wake of these awful events, have diverged.”
Horn said she had terminated her relationship with the group “effective immediately.”
In a pointed statement Friday night, however, the Lincoln Project blasted Horn for reportedly asking for a hefty bonus and contract on Wednesday.
“Forty-eight hours ago, at a moment when the Lincoln Project was under attack from the Trump organization and their propaganda allies, Jennifer Horn, in written communication, requested from the Lincoln Project an immediate ‘signing bonus’ payment of $250,000 and a $40,000 per month consulting contract,” the group said in a statement.
The statement continued: “This followed a Christmas Eve communication from Jennifer, where she demanded a board seat on the Lincoln Project, a television show, a podcast hosting assignment, and a staff to manage these endeavors. She also stated her goal was ‘to establish immediate and long-term financial security.’ ”
The group said Horn resigned when her demands were “unanimously rejected by the management committee and board.”
“We wish her the best in her future endeavors,” the group added.
When reached for comment Friday, Horn reiterated her statement to the Times.
Fox News has dropped ‘Lou Dobbs Tonight,’ promoter of Trump’s false election fraud claims
Return to menu“Lou Dobbs Tonight” has been canceled by Fox News, a network spokesperson confirmed.
Dobbs, 75, was among the most ardent pro-Trump voices on air. He held influence over Trump administration policy — particularly on trade and immigration — and relentlessly promoted the former president’s false claims of election fraud late last year. His nightly program, which a person close to Dobbs said aired its final episode Friday, was by far the highest-rated on Fox Business.
The news was first reported by the Los Angeles Times, which reported that Dobbs will be unlikely to return to air, although he still has a contract with Fox News Media.
The announcement comes one day after the election technology company Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, parent company Fox Corp. and several on-air commentators, including Dobbs.
Biden says he’s ‘prepared to negotiate’ on targeted $1,400 stimulus checks
Return to menuPresident Biden on Friday indicated he was willing to negotiate with Republicans in Congress over who should receive $1,400 stimulus payments but vowed the amount of the payments would not change.
In a “CBS Evening News” interview — his first network interview since taking office, a portion of which aired Friday night — Biden said he was “prepared to negotiate” on the annual income that would be the cutoff for people to receive a stimulus check.
“Here’s the deal: Middle-class folks need help,” Biden told host Norah O’Donnell, adding that he did not believe those making $250,000 or $300,000 annually would need assistance from the government.
“So it’s somewhere between an individual making up to 75 [thousand dollars] and phasing out, and a couple making up to 150 [thousand dollars] and then phasing out,” he said. “But again, I’m wide open on what that is.”
Democrats have proposed sending $1,400 relief checks to individuals earning $50,000 or less and $2,800 checks to couples making up to $100,000.
Though Biden has shown a willingness to narrow who receives the checks, earlier Friday he vowed to move forward with his economic relief plan, even without Republican support, saying that too many families are suffering because of the pandemic.
“I see enormous pain in this country,” Biden said then. “A lot of folks out of work. A lot of folks going hungry, staring at the ceiling at night wondering, ‘What am I going to do tomorrow?’ So I’m going to act, and I’m going to act fast.”
In his interview with O’Donnell, Biden also said he thought raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour — a proposal included in his relief plan — would not survive the Senate, but he said he was prepared for “a separate negotiation” on that issue.
“Look, no one should work 40 hours a week and live below the poverty wage. And if you’re making less than $15 an hour, you’re living below the poverty wage,” he told O’Donnell.
Biden administration to remove Yemen’s Houthi rebels from terrorism list in reversal of Trump-era policy
Return to menuThe Biden administration has formally notified Congress that it will remove Yemen’s Houthi rebels from the U.S. government’s list of foreign terrorist organizations, according to three congressional aides and a State Department official, reversing an 11th-hour Trump administration decision that aid groups said would worsen the dire humanitarian situation in the country.
The State Department added the rebel group to a list of official terrorist groups on the day before Donald Trump left office despite an outcry from humanitarian organizations that said it would make it harder to get food, medical assistance and other basic goods to people in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
The Trump administration defended the move as part of a broader pressure campaign against Iran, which backs the Houthis against Yemeni forces supported by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other regional powers.
“We have formally notified Congress of the Secretary’s intent to revoke these designations,” a State Department official said in a statement. “This decision has nothing to do with our view of the Houthis and their reprehensible conduct, including attacks against civilians and the kidnapping of American citizens.”
Biden says Trump should not receive intelligence briefings because of his ‘erratic behavior’
Return to menuPresident Biden does not think former president Donald Trump should continue to receive intelligence briefings because of his “erratic behavior,” according to the president’s interview on “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell.”
Biden’s remarks were a step further than the stance he and other officials in his administration had previously taken on the issue, when they said they would seek guidance from intelligence professionals.
In a portion of the interview that aired Friday night, Biden cites Trump’s “erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection” — a reference to when a pro-Trump mob overran the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 — as the reason he thinks Trump should not continue receiving intelligence briefings, as is typical after a president leaves office.
O’Donnell also pressed Biden on his past remarks when he called Trump an existential threat, dangerous and reckless. Biden acknowledged that he said those things and said he still believed them.
Biden demurred, however, when O’Donnell asked what his worst fear was, should Trump continue to get the briefings.
“I’d rather not speculate out loud. I just think that there is no need for him to have the intelligence briefings,” Biden told O’Donnell. “What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?”
Former White House officials and political analysts have expressed fear that Trump could divulge classified information, either unintentionally or for personal gain.
Just before the inauguration, incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain did not rule out withholding intelligence briefings from Trump, saying then that the administration would “look for a recommendation from the intelligence professionals in the Biden-Harris administration.”
The conversation with O’Donnell was Biden’s first network interview since he took office.
Biden departs White House for first trip on Air Force One as president
Return to menuBiden left the White House for a weekend at his Delaware home, where he’ll stay and watch the Super Bowl with family.
The president walked alone from the residence to board Marine One to take him to Joint Base Andrews, where he started his first trip on Air Force One as president.
Upon arriving in Delaware, Biden told reporters that he was there to “see my grandchildren and to hang out with Jill to get the rest of the stuff we have to move from our house to the other house.”
Asked earlier during a news briefing why the president was going to Delaware this weekend, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, “He is from Delaware and has a home there and is going to spend the weekend with his wife and family.”
Psaki wouldn’t say who Biden would be rooting for in the Super Bowl, only that he would be watching.
Republican group urges GOP senators to vote to convict Trump in new ads
Return to menuA group of anti-Trump Republicans is airing television ads targeting 22 Republican senators across 19 states ahead of next week’s Senate impeachment trial, calling on them to vote to convict the former president.
The new political action committee, the Republican Accountability Project (RAP), created in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, is led by Trump critics such as Bill Kristol and Olivia Troye, who worked for Vice President Mike Pence before leaving and speaking out about what she had observed in the Trump White House.
The 30-second television ad begins with footage of the Capitol siege. It shows Trump’s speech at the rally just before and people in the crowd parroting his rhetoric. Trump is heard saying they’re going to the Capitol “to stop the steal” and to “fight like hell,” over footage of the mob busting through security barriers and breaking into the Capitol.
Then a narrator singles out a senator and says: “Donald Trump incited an attack on our Capitol. It’s up to you to convict and disqualify him.”
The personalized ads will run in 19 states during “Fox & Friends” Monday through Friday as the Senate trial commences. A generic one will also run in the D.C. market during the show and on Fox News during prime time.
“This is exactly the kind of case impeachment was designed for,” said Sarah Longwell, executive director of RAP. “Trump abused the power of the presidency to attempt a violent overthrow of Congress so he could stay in office even though he lost the election. If Republicans don’t convict him, they’re actively endorsing his behavior and inviting more violence and usurpation.”
The targeted senators include four of the five Republicans who supported moving ahead with an impeachment trial — Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Ben Sasse (Nebraska), Patrick J. Toomey (Pa.) and Mitt Romney (Utah) — as well as others who the group says can be persuaded: Sens. John Cornyn (Tex.), Rob Portman (Ohio), John Barrasso (Wyo.), Charles E. Grassley (Iowa), Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Richard Burr (N.C.), Thom Tillis (N.C.), James M. Inhofe (Okla.), James Lankford (Okla.), Richard C. Shelby (Ala.), Todd C. Young (Ind.), Jerry Moran (Kan.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Roger Wicker (Miss.), Kevin Cramer (N.D.), John Hoeven (N.D.), John Thune (S.D.) and Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.).
House Republicans Gohmert, Clyde are fined $5,000 for bypassing security screening, aide says
Return to menuTwo Republican House members have been fined $5,000 for bypassing the security screening that has been set up outside the House chamber in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, a senior Democratic aide said Friday.
The lawmakers, Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) and Andrew S. Clyde (R-Ga.), appear to be the first members punished under a new rule approved by the House on Tuesday night.
Spokespeople for Gohmert and Clyde did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to the new rules, lawmakers who bypass the metal detectors that have been installed outside some doors to the House chamber will be fined $5,000 for the first offense and $10,000 for each subsequent offense.
The metal detectors were installed in a move aimed at tightening security in the wake of the deadly Jan. 6 riot. Some Republican lawmakers have objected to being screened, prompting tense confrontations with Capitol Police.
In the days after the equipment’s installation, some Republicans, such as Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), refused to hand their bags over to police even after they had set off the magnetometers. Others, such as Gohmert and Reps. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Randy Weber (R-Tex.), walked around the machines on their way into the House chamber.
Still others argued with the Capitol Police officers enforcing the new security measures, and one lawmaker, Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), delivered a floor speech in which he blasted the metal detectors as “appalling” and an “atrocity.”
Without naming lawmakers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) cited some of that behavior in a statement after Tuesday’s vote, noting that after the Jan. 6 insurrection, “many House Republicans began disrespecting our heroes by refusing to adhere to basic precautions keeping members of our Congressional community safe — including by dodging metal detectors, physically pushing past police, and even attempting to bring firearms into the chamber.”
“It is beyond comprehension why any Member would refuse to adhere to these simple, common-sense steps to keep this body safe,” Pelosi said, describing the rule change as “sad” but necessary to ensure the safety of lawmakers and others inside the Capitol.
Democratic group American Bridge plans $100 million midterm campaign to back President Biden
Return to menuThe Democratic group American Bridge, which spent about $62 million on ads in 2020 to defeat President Donald Trump, plans to relaunch next month with a new effort aimed at defending the record of Biden, as well as a nine-figure ad budget to maintain Democratic congressional majorities through the midterm elections.
Former Montana governor Steve Bullock, former Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez and former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards will join as co-chairs, according to a statement from the group. They will join former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, who began advising the group last year.
The announcement marks the first major reorganization of the external Democratic infrastructure that helped elect Biden, with more moves expected in the coming weeks as the White House prepares to roll out additional details of its own political program.
“In 2022, Democratic fortunes are going to sink or swim on Biden’s success, so we want to engage on that front from the outset,” said Bradley Beychok, the group’s president, who will step down to become a senior adviser next month. “Biden’s policies are going to impact American families. Our job is to make sure that those impacts are seen and heard by voters starting now.”
Jessica Floyd, the managing director of campaigns for the Hub Project, a network of liberal groups involved in elections, plans to take over as president on March 1, working with the group’s co-founders, Beychok and David Brock. At the Hub Project, she oversaw nearly $30 million in spending to defeat Republicans in Congress in 2018, and she previously worked for the independent expenditure arm of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Analysis: The Biden administration’s muddled message on reopening schools
Return to menuIf there is one issue that increasingly bridges much of the political divide over the coronavirus response, it might be reopening schools. Growing evidence from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other organizations has suggested that schools pose very little risk of spreading the virus once they reopen, and the Biden administration has set a goal of making this happen in its first 100 days.
But when it comes to how we get there, the messaging from the Biden administration has been a bit of a muddled mess — particularly over the past two days.
The big sticking point is whether schools might be able to reopen even before all teachers are vaccinated. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky made big news Wednesday when she seemed to strongly indicate that that was indeed where the guidance was headed.
Analysis: Biden’s Yemen policy breaks with Obama. There may be more daylight to come.
Return to menuPresident Barack Obama began U.S. cooperation with the Saudi-led war in Yemen, fueling a humanitarian crisis. Trump’s unstinting instincts were to deepen it, even as his administration pared back some key elements. Biden announced Thursday he’s keeping a campaign pledge and ending America’s five-year involvement.
The news came in the Delaware Democrat’s first foreign policy speech since taking office, a whirlwind 20-minute rhetorical world tour in which he promised a hard line on China and Russia but did not mention North Korea, Afghanistan, or the Iran nuclear deal.
Biden also left open the future of U.S.-Saudi relations more broadly, which are under review. Trump’s immediate and full-throated support for the kingdom’s operations in Yemen, which Obama had come to criticize sharply by late 2016, showed his eagerness to court an ally central to his plans to confront Iran.
As impeachment trial kicks off next week, Biden to focus on pandemic response, national security
Return to menuDemocrats on Capitol Hill are preparing for Trump’s impeachment trial, which is set to begin Tuesday. Biden, meanwhile, will not be focusing on the trial, but on an array of other issues, including his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that Biden next week “will be focused on engaging with bipartisan groups on the American Rescue Plan and other key priorities, including current vaccine distribution and national security.”
On Monday, Biden will conduct a virtual visit of a coronavirus vaccination center, Psaki said. On Wednesday, he will visit the Pentagon and meet with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. On Thursday, he will visit the National Institutes of Health.
Psaki also said the White House is hopeful the Senate can move forward with confirming Biden’s remaining Cabinet nominees even as it conducts the trial.
“You know, we are confident that the Senate can walk and chew gum at the same time,” she said.
Biden to bring back weekly presidential address
Return to menuBiden will resume a weekly address to the American people, a tradition that withered under President Donald Trump.
The first episode comes out Saturday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, and will feature a conversation between Biden and a California woman named Michelle who lost her job because of the pandemic.
But unlike predecessors who delivered recorded speeches, Biden’s address will take many forms, Psaki said, with some having more of a conversational podcast feel.
The weekly tradition, modeled after President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fireside chats, began in earnest with President Ronald Reagan and continued with Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Trump, who used Twitter to directly speak to Americans, mostly abandoned the weekly address and stopped them for good in 2018.
Economic adviser says Biden won’t ‘lose sight of people in the middle of the income scale’ in coronavirus relief negotiations
Return to menuBiden economic adviser Jared Bernstein offered a full-throated defense of the size and scope of the president’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan Friday, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on the jobs of women and people of color.
Speaking during a White House briefing for reporters, Bernstein, a member of the Council of Economic Advisers, reiterated that Biden remains willing to negotiate who will be eligible to receive a $1,400 stimulus check included in the package but said the president is committed to helping not only the poor but also the middle class.
“I think what’s important to the president is that we don’t lose sight of people in the middle of the income scale who continue to struggle with both the health and economic fallout from this crisis,” Bernstein said. “And these checks target them effectively and efficiently.”
As Biden did in remarks earlier, Bernstein highlighted a disappointing January jobs report in arguing for the necessity of a robust relief package.
He said, “workers of color have been more likely to lose their jobs than White workers in January,” and noted a troubling trend about women leaving the workforce.
“While the unemployment rate for men and women is relatively similar, women have left the labor force in numbers that are of great concern to us,” Bernstein said.
In response to questions, Bernstein also pushed back against those who have argued that the overall package is too costly, including Lawrence H. Summers, a former economic adviser to President Barack Obama.
Bernstein cited recent statements about “going big” by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and said Biden’s team is united in its belief that there is greater risk in spending too little than spending too much.
“The White House economic team is in complete consensus on the urgency of the need for this American Rescue Plan and in complete solidarity on the calibration of this plan, that it’s of the magnitude to meet the challenges we face,” Bernstein said.