The Congressional GOP remains in chaos as they take us closer to a shutdown.

Thursday, Sept 21, 2023
BY JULIA CLAIRE & CROOKED MEDIA

- House Speaker Kevin McCarthy ([link removed]) , who has apparently never met his GOP colleagues or any Congressional Republican of the last 20 years.

President Biden and the first lady greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday afternoon for his third visit to the White House.

* Zelenskyy has had a full schedule in Washington as he seeks to ensure continued military support from the United States, Ukraine’s most powerful Western ally. He met with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy ([link removed]) , the latter of whom represents a potential threat to President Biden’s funding request (because he’s a Republican Trump loyalist).

* McCarthy told reporters that people “have questions” for Zelenskyy and concerns about “accountability.” McCarthy? Concerned about accountability? I guess there’s a first time for everything. He confirmed to the Washington Post that he rejected a request from Zelenskyy to address a joint session of Congress ([link removed]) .

* National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the administration has made no decision about supplying Kyiv with the American tactical missiles, known as ATACMS, which Zelenskyy has been requesting for months. (If I can editorialize: you gotta come up with a better name for those missiles, fellas.) White House National Security adviser Jake Sullivan announced on Thursday ([link removed]) that the Biden administration will announce a new military-assistance package for Ukraine which will include “significant air-defense capabilities.”

Let’s check in with the absolute clown car that is congressional Republicans, who seem to be driving that car right over a cliff.

* Continuing their streak of abject, cartoonish failures, House Republicans were unable to advance a Defense Department appropriations bill on Thursday ([link removed]) . It was the second time in one week that Republicans couldn’t even pass a procedural vote to advance their own legislation. The failed vote capped off a three-hour meeting on Wednesday focusing on both long-term spending bills and the more pressing issue of, ahem, avoiding a government shutdown. The House GOP conference reported progress on a short-term spending bill to keep the government open, but still has no credible plan to fund the government. Cool, thanks for your continued, invaluable contributions, House Republicans!

* McCarthy can’t even get a bill out of committee, which isn’t a particularly inspiring sign for a legislative leader of the world’s most powerful government. Meanwhile, in the Senate, there’s been a bit more progress with Pentagon-related decisions thanks to the slim Democratic majority. The upper chamber voted on Thursday to confirm General Randy A. George as the next Army chief of staff and General Eric M. Smith as the next commandant of the Marine Corps ([link removed]) , filling historica vacancies caused by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). Tuberville, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been holding up over 300 military promotions for months in “protest” of the Pentagon’s long-standing policy to treat abortion as health care (because it is…) when it reimburses servicemembers for health-care related travel. Unlike many other members of the committee from both parties, Tuberville has never
served. Of course.

Congressional Republicans have no governing vision, and are actively running the government into the ground due to a deadly combination of utter incompetence and spite. It should surprise no one that the party of obstructionism is combusting under pressure.

The second GOP presidential debate is coming up on Wednesday, September 27th, which means it’s time for another Friends of the Pod exclusive Group Thread! Join us on Discord for live reactions and commentary during the debate. Your favorite Crooked hosts and staff, including Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor, Dan Pfeiffer, will be watching with you as this magical night unfolds. Will Vivek Ramaswamy incite another pile on? Will Ron DeSantis finally master the human smile? Will Tommy get drunk and start posting gifs? We’re on the edge of our seats. Don’t miss out. Subscribe to Friends of the Pod to join our Group Thread at Crooked.com/friends ([link removed]) .
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Somewhat surprisingly, the anti-abortion movement has a bone to pick with the man who effectively handed them the Dobbs ruling: Donald Trump ([link removed]) . Despite the fact that Trump continues to take credit for overturning Roe, he also recently made comments critical of hyper-strict bans after six weeks of pregnancy with few or no exceptions, like the ones in Florida, Texas, and other red states. And while Trump said he wants a federal ban, the anti-abortion movement doesn’t like that he pledged to work with “both sides” to achieve it. These are all semantics, of course, because 1. There would be no “both sides” to a federal abortion ban and 2. Trump, as we know, is all things to all people and he will ban abortion wherever he can, however he can if he thinks it’s in his personal interest. He especially angered some of his pals at the Heritage Foundation and other hard-right groups when he called the
six-week ban passed by his foe Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) a “terrible thing and a terrible mistake,” and added that he believes Republicans “speak very inarticulately about this subject.” Damn, Donald Trump saying you’re inarticulate…that’s gotta hurt.

Rupert Murdoch has officially stepped down as the Chairman of Fox Corp ([link removed]) , handing it over to his son Lachlan.


The New York Attorney General’s Office filed a document on Friday arguing that any delay in its upcoming civil fraud case against Trump “is likely to create a cascade of delays ([link removed]) not only in this case but also other litigations,” involving the former president.


A bus carrying members of a high school band rolled over in an accident in New York state, killing at least one of the passengers ([link removed]) .


Former high-profile South Carolina lawyer and now-convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh—who is already serving life in prison without parole for shooting his wife and son—additionally pleaded guilty to 22 counts of financial fraud and money laundering in federal court on Thursday ([link removed]) .


According to a former aide, right-wing ex-President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro reportedly met with the heads of his country’s army, navy, and air force late last year to gauge their support for a military coup ([link removed]) when he lost the election to now-President Lula.

India’s foreign ministry announced on Thursday that it has suspended new visas for Canadians and asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country ([link removed]) in retaliation for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegation that the country is responsible for the murder of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil.

The Friday deadline for expanded strikes by the United Auto Workers union against the Detroit Three automakers (General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis) is looming ([link removed]) as talks between the two parties remain at a standstill. It is now likely that the union will strike at additional plants. Both parties are holding their respective lines, and there has been little movement on proposals and negotiations since the strikes launched on September 15. Sources say the parties remain “far apart.” The automakers—which have all seen record profits in recent years—do not want to give in to fixed costs and what they call “uncompetitive practices” like traditional pensions for workers. We call it “compensating your workers fairly for creating the profits you haul.” On Thursday, the White House declined to say whether President Biden will visit one of the picket lines
([link removed]) , but said that he is “pro-UAW workers.” Not to put too fine a point on it, but prove it, Joe!
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Leaders of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced on Thursday that they are in the process of reinstating millions of Americans in 30 states who have been improperly dropped from Medicaid ([link removed]) , including almost half a million children.

The White House announced an executive order to expedite permitting for clean energy manufacturing ([link removed]) , including electric vehicle charging stations.
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