Dems have their work cut out for them in Biden's lame duck session.

Wednesday, November 16, 2022
BY JULIA CLAIRE & CROOKED MEDIA

- Disgraced former president Trump ([link removed]) , announcing his 2024 presidential candidacy in typical fashion.

Congressional Republicans are grappling with their humiliating midterms performance and where the party goes with Trump still looming large, while congressional Dems are having their old problems of ineffectual timidity.

* Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way: yes, Donald Trump is running for president, again, for the third time, because god hates us and wants us to be unhappy. ABC, NBC, and CBS all decided to pass on airing the announcement live ([link removed]) (much appreciated) and rightly decided that Bachelor in Paradise would be a better use of everyone’s time. Even Fox News cut away from the speech multiple times. That’s how tired the act has gotten. The Fox News crowd has been cooling on Trump for some time now, especially since he proved to be ballot-box poison for Republican candidates last week. On CNN, Trump’s former OMB Director Mick Mulvaney called Trump “the only Republican who could lose” in 2024 and former Communications Director Alyssa Farah Griffin said he is “wholly unfit to ever be in office again.” (Whether those two should be welcome guests on mainstream outlets is a question for another time,
the answer to which is “No.”) For the past week, many Fox News commentators have been openly expressing their preference for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) as a prospective 2024 GOP nominee. So it’s off to a great start!

* Moving on to the congressional Republican clown car, Senate Republicans re-elected Mitch McConnell as minority leader ([link removed]) in a 37-10 vote, and he was a huge diva about it. McConnell’s swift and easy victory squelched the challenge from Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and at least temporarily silenced some of his very loud detractors like Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO). It’s funny that Scott felt well-positioned to replace McConnell as minority leader considering he was the head of the Republican Senate campaign arm, and by all accounts (and by the scorecard) did a terrible job. In the four-hour, closed-door meeting, McConnell and Scott traded barbs and discussed how they would govern in the minority (I love this song). Senate Democrats, on the other hand, have postponed their internal elections until after Thanksgiving.

* Speaking of Democrats, Senate Dems are being pressed to decide quickly which legislative priorities to pursue before the House falls into GOP hands. The White House has reportedly given up hope that Congress will raise the national debt limit ([link removed]) during the lame-duck session that runs through the end of December. Even using budget reconciliation which only requires a simple majority, we have our old twin problem children, Sens. Kirstyn Sinema (D-AZ) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), and not a snowball’s chance in hell of any Republicans crossing the aisle. This is a great time to remember that the debt ceiling should be eliminated, and that the only upshot of its continued existence is to allow congressional Republicans to attempt to extort concessions that personally enrich themselves and their donor friends from Democrats.

Millions of voters went to the ballot box so that Democrats could deliver on their promises, will Senate Dems return the favor?

* With Republicans rolling back civil rights for marginalized groups across the country, Senate Dems have moved legislation forward to codify protections for same-sex and interracial marriage ([link removed]) . Twelve Republican senators joined all Democrats in the upper chamber today to end a GOP filibuster, meaning a final vote could come as soon as this week, or later this month. President Biden said that he will sign the bill into law once it is passed. This legislation would repeal the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act and require states to recognize all marriages that were legal where they were performed. The new Respect for Marriage Act would also protect interracial marriages by requiring states to recognize legal marriages regardless of “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.”


* What is the fate of congressional investigations into disgraced former president Trump? Well, the January 6 committee will be disbanded when Republicans take over, but the Justice Department is still pushing ahead with its probes ([link removed]) , as running for president does not immunize Trump from criminal investigations. DOJ lawyers say they have amassed evidence of potential crimes involving not only obstruction of justice, but also the willful retention of national defense information. The state probe in Georgia from the Fulton County Special Grand Jury will also continue. And hey, Georgia, if you re-elect Raphael Warnock, Senate Democrats can pick up where House Democrats will leave off, just sayin’.

Dems will have more limited options when control of Congress becomes divided in January, but we can’t lose focus, because we have to do this all again in two years, and, again, we still have a Senate seat to keep in Georgia ([link removed]) .

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Hours before Trump decided to curse us all again with another presidential bid, he inked a licensing deal with Saudi developer Dar Al Arakan to build a new golf course, hotel, and thousands of residential units in the Oman capital of Muscat ([link removed]) . This is the first deal of its kind from the Trump Organization since Donny left office, and the company may feel pressure to move fast to add to the Oman deal. This raises familiar-for-Trump ethical conflicts that he has never shown any interest in resolving, particularly vis-a-vis his relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Trump has an infamously close relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and since leaving office has hosted two golf tournaments at his properties for the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series. There’s also the fact that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner (anyone know if he ever brought peace to the Middle
East?) also recently received a $2 billion investment from a Saudi sovereign wealth fund for his new investment fund, over the objections of KSA’s own fiduciary. When Trump’s son Eric, who oversees the Trump Organization’s global real-estate interests, was asked if such deals would come to a halt if his father was elected again, he responded “Why would we do anything differently?” Well, I guess when you and your family are never held accountable for crimes and ethics violations, sure, why would they start being ethical now?

Karen Bass became the first woman elected mayor of Los Angeles today ([link removed]) , and perhaps even more importantly, she is not a billionaire real-estate developer who was a Republican only until it was no longer politically expedient.


British prosecutors have authorized additional charges against actor Kevin Spacey, including three counts of sexual assault ([link removed]) related to incidents alleged to have taken place between 2001-2004.


Twitter CEO Elon Musk issued an ultimatum to company employees today ([link removed]) that they must sign a pledge committing to the new “extremely hardcore” Twitter or leave the company. Thoughts and prayers to everyone still at the company who has to take orders from this guy.


Former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified before a Fulton County, GA, grand jury today ([link removed]) pursuant to its investigation of Trump’s “alleged” attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.


An American space capsule traveled toward the moon today for the first time in 50 years ([link removed]) as a test launch for NASA’s most formidable rocket. Going to the moon, again? With all due respect, NASA, get a new act.


Today at the United Nations climate conference in Egypt, Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva promised to crack down on illegal deforestation of the Amazon rainforest ([link removed]) , a practice which exploded under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.


The President of South Africa has called for the country to be included as a permanent member of the G-20 ([link removed]) .


If you’re in for a ride, read this batshit DM interview with crypto grifter Sam Bankman-Fried ([link removed]) , who is currently under investigation by both the SEC and the Department of Justice.

Escalation fears have eased after Poland and NATO agreed that a missile that hit Poland yesterday was most likely a stray fired by Ukrainian air defense ([link removed]) and not a Russian strike. The world breathed a collective sigh of relief as it became clear that neither Russia nor NATO countries want fighting to bleed west of Ukraine. Nevertheless, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Russia, not Ukraine, was still to blame for starting the war in the first place and launching scores of missiles on Tuesday that triggered Ukrainian defenses.
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The Supreme Court again declined to hear a lawsuit challenging a ban on bump stocks ([link removed]) .


The Cherokee Nation is now one step closer to having a delegate from the tribe seated in the House of Representatives ([link removed]) , which would finally deliver on the promise of a 200-year-old treaty. America: Proudly not delivering on promises to Native Americans since 1620.


Illinois voters approved an amendment to their state constitution guaranteeing the right to collective bargaining ([link removed]) , another substantial win for the labor movement.

Rent-control measures won at the ballot box across the United States last week ([link removed]) .
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