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Top Republicans question McCarthy over release of January 6 footage as speaker vows deliberate approach
CNN Politics | Melanie Zanona, Manu Raju, & Alayna Treene
February 28, 2023
Speaker Kevin McCarthy faced questions from his leadership team Monday night over his plans to publicly release security footage from January 6, 2021, multiple sources told CNN - a progress that he said could take some time to disseminate widely even as Fox News host Tucker Carlson has had an early glimpse.
While GOP leaders are supportive of the move to release the footage - which was one of the many concessions McCarthy made in his bid to become speaker - some lawmakers in the closed-door leadership meeting asked whether sensitive security protocols or certain evacuation routes would be exposed by taking that step.
Others questioned how long the footage is going to be dragged out in the press, with some lawmakers concerned about the optics of appearing to try to downplay a deadly insurrection in the US Capitol. Read more
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Democrats push to end security exemption on Capitol Hill as Republicans demand the right to carry guns
House Democrats are calling on President Joe Biden to name a new architect of the Capitol who will force members of Congress to go through security screenings.
NBC News | Ryan Nobles & Haley Talbot
February 28, 2023
Staff Sgt. Aquilino Gonell recently retired from the U.S. Capitol Police after he was injured in the Jan. 6 attack. But he remains worried about one, seemingly small, security gap on Capitol Hill that could lead to a big problem.
Members of Congress and, often, the people they enter the Capitol with are not screened by security when they enter the Capitol complex.
"Oh, it is disturbing," Gonell said. "The protocol is for them to pass around security."
Staff members of the House Administration Committee confirmed that members and their guests are not required to be screened. Capitol Police declined to comment. Read more
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Biden to warn Republicans are endangering Obamacare and Medicaid
The Washington Post| John Wagner & Mariana Alfaro
February 28, 2023
Today, during a trip to Virginia Beach, President Biden plans a pivot in his attack on House Republicans as they remain in a standoff over raising the debt ceiling. Biden will argue that spending cuts demanded by Republicans in exchange for raising the limit would do severe damage to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and Medicaid - two programs that Democrats have used to significantly expand health-care coverage. The new focus follows weeks of arguing that Republicans are jeopardizing Social Security and Medicare, a pair of popular entitlement programs.
In Washington, the Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in a pair of challenges to Biden's student debt forgiveness program. A House committee will hold a prime-time hearing on China. And voters are going to the polls in Chicago to select a mayor. Read more
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Thompson won't seek re-election after party switch
87-year-old lawmaker decides against seeking another four-year term
New Jersey Globe| David Wildstein
February 27, 2023
Just two weeks after announcing that he was switching parties and running for re-election as a Democrat, State Sen. Sam Thompson (R-Old Bridge) has changed his mind and will instead retire at the end of his term and not be a candidate for re-election in 2023.
"I have decided I'm not going to run for re-election," Thompson told the New Jersey Globe. My priority should be my wife. She's 91, and she's had two falls in the last year and has trouble getting around. We are celebrating our 66th anniversary on Thursday. I owe her my full attention."
The 87-year-old Middlesex County lawmaker changed his party affiliation after Republicans asked him to retire and signaled that they planned to replace him on their ticket with Owen Henry, the three-term mayor of Old Bridge. Read more
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Democrats launch new campaign to tie vulnerable New York Republicans to George Santos
CNN | Melanie Zanona
February 27, 2023
The House Democrats' campaign arm is launching a new effort to link vulnerable New York republicans to Rep. George Santos, with Democrats betting that the freshman congressman will be a major liability for the GOP in key swing districts next year.
Beginning on Monday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is rolling out a five-figure billboard campaign targeting five freshman Republicans who took donations from Santos: New York Reps. Nick LaLota, Anthony D'Esposito, Mike Lawler, Marc Molinaro, and Brandon Williams, all of whom helped Republicans win a narrow majority last fall by winning seats that President Joe Biden had carried.
Molinaro and D'Esposito both returned the money from Santos after a number of his financial issues came to light, but the billboards in their districts ask why the lawmakers took campaign cash from "a fraudster" in the first place. The other three billboards, which feature a picture of Snatos and the lawmaker, ask whether the members will return the campaign donations. Read more
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Republican Party of Virginia announces Stephen Imholt as nominee for 9th Senate District seat
ABC8 News| Delaney Murray
February 26, 2023
The Republican Party of Virginia has officially named their nominee who will run for the vacant seat in the Virginia 9th Senate District after a Party Canvass.
On Friday, Feb. 26, the Republican Party of Virginia held a Party Canvass to select the Republican nominee to fill the vacant seat in the Virginia 9th Senate District. This seat was recently vacated by Congresswoman-Elect Jennifer McClellan after she was elected to serve in the United States Congress. Read more
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WG Discussion Points
Republicans Must Heed 2022 Lessons To Win In 2024
WG Discussion Points | David Winston
February 24, 2023
With the last election in the rearview mirror, Republicans are turning their sights to 2024 as presidential candidates are firing up campaigns and traveling to primary states. For Republicans to be successful in 2024, they need to take a serious look at missed opportunities in the 2022 election, as the difficulties are not going to be solved by tactics nor by any individual candidate at the top of the ticket. As we've been highlighting in our 2022 post-election report, the biggest problem area for Republicans was independents who voted for Democrats by 2, undercutting a 3-point Republican party ID advantage and hopes for a Red Wave. Read more
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