DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, DNC Women’s Caucus Chair Lottie Shackelford, and DNC AAPI Caucus Chair Bel Leong-Hong released the following statement marking AANHPI Women’s Equal Pay Day:
“On Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Women’s Equal Pay Day, we reaffirm our commitment to fighting for fair wages on behalf of AANHPI women across the country. On average, AANHPI women earn 80 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. It is critical that we work to close the wage gap and ensure that everyone, regardless of race or gender, is paid equally for equal work.
“President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting every day to advance pay equity and remove barriers so AANHPI women can access opportunity, connect to good-paying jobs, and thrive in our economy. From Vice President Kamala Harris to Ambassador Katherine Tai, and acting Labor Secretary Julie Sue, the contributions of AANHPI women in the Biden-Harris administration have been recognized for what they are – integral to the success of this nation.
“While real, substantial progress has been made towards advancing pay equity under the Biden-Harris administration, we can’t stop now – we will continue the fight until AANHPI women are compensated fairly and equally.”
In response to the RNC fundraising off of Donald Trump’s “bloodbath” threats of political violence, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
“The RNC’s attempt to fundraise off of Donald Trump’s threats of political violence while promoting Trump’s hateful and divisive fearmongering is a shameful new low for a committee that has repeatedly hit rock bottom only to sink further into toxic MAGA extremism that is driving away voters – and donors – ahead of November.”
After Donald Trump promised a “bloodbath” if he loses in November…
Trump: “If I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the whole- that’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.”
… MAGA Republicans once again quickly rushed to his defense, while the RNC is trying to fundraise off his dangerous comments.
Politico: “Reaction to Trump’s speech: When is ‘a bloodbath’ not a bloodbath?”
“Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) also accepted the interpretation of Trump’s ‘bloodbath’ as pertaining to the American auto industry.”
“Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), speaking on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ also said he was dubious about the uproar over Trump’s language Saturday. … Cassidy said the press must bear some blame for interpreting Trump’s remarks in the worst possible light.”
Trump is once again facing intense criticism for his extreme and dangerous rhetoric.
NBC News: “Trump says there will be a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses the election”
Politico: “Trump says country faces ‘bloodbath’ if Biden wins in November”
Rolling Stone: “Trump Says There Will Be a ‘Bloodbath’ and Elections Will End if He Isn’t Reelected”
New York Times: “Trump Defends His Warning of a ‘Blood Bath for the Country’”
Trump continues to praise and embrace violent January 6 rioters – including calling them “hostages” and “patriots” and vowing to pardon “a large portion” of those who attacked our Capitol.
Newsweek: “Donald Trump Salutes Jan. 6 ‘Hostages’ at Ohio Rally”
Business Insider: “Then-President Donald Trump didn’t want to specifically call for the Justice Department to prosecute January 6 rioters or forcefully condemn those who stormed the Capitol as unrepresentative of the MAGA movement.”
Washington Post: “No, Trump did not order 10,000 troops to secure the Capitol on Jan. 6”
The Hill: “Trump describes imprisoned Jan. 6 rioters as ‘hostages’”
Washington Post: “Trump vows pardons, government apology to Capitol rioters if elected”
NBC News: “Former President Donald Trump promised Wednesday night that if he is elected he will pardon a ‘large portion’ of the people convicted of federal offenses for their participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.”
Washington Post: “Former president Donald Trump on Thursday praised and embraced a woman convicted of defying police orders on the U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021. … Trump has steadily escalated his advocacy for people charged in the Capitol riot, including by pledging to pardon them if he returns to the White House, praising them as patriots, participating in a recording with Jan. 6 prisoners singing the national anthem, and playing it at his first rally of the 2024 campaign last month.”
Trump: “January 6, it was the largest crowd I’ve ever spoken to. And they were there proud, they were there with love in their heart. That was an unbelievable — and it was a beautiful day.” NBC News: “Trump spoke at a fundraiser for Jan. 6 defendants”
In response to reporting that MAGA Republicans are doubling down in their extreme agenda to threaten IVF access, DNC spokesperson Aida Ross released the following statement:
“The top architects of the GOP’s Project 2025 blueprint for Donald Trump have their sights set on ripping away IVF access from families across the country. Anti-choice extremists are now saying the quiet part out loud after Trump’s MAGA minions in Congress blocked even the most basic protections for IVF and supported an abortion ban that would threaten access to these treatments for millions. They’re making it clear that their goal is to make it harder for Americans to start or grow their families – but voters will reject their dangerous, anti-choice extremism in November.”
Extreme anti-choice groups that are part of Project 2025 are pushing Republicans to gut access to IVF — and Republicans are falling in line.
Politico: “Anti-abortion advocates worked for five decades to topple Roe v. Wade. They’re now laying the groundwork for a yearslong fight to curb in vitro fertilization.
“Since the Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month that frozen embryos are children, the Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups have been strategizing how to convince not just GOP officials but evangelicals broadly that they should have serious moral concerns about fertility treatments like IVF and that access to them should be curtailed.
“In short, they want to re-run the Roe playbook.
“They plan to appeal to evangelical denominations and their leaders to take a firm stance that IVF as practiced in the U.S. destroys human life. That, they hope, will reshape how conservative Christians — and in turn, the officials they elect — view the issue, just as it did on abortion. Ultimately, it could lead to laws that create a patchwork of IVF access in the United States, where the procedure is more accessible in liberal states and more limited in conservative ones.”
“The groups are not advocating banning IVF but want new restrictions that would significantly curtail access to the procedure, such as imposing more regulations on fertility clinics, limiting the number of embryos that can be created or transferred to the uterus at one time, and banning pre-implantation genetic testing, which they argue allows parents to discriminate against their embryos on the basis of sex, disabilities like Down Syndrome or other factors.”
“Those pushing to restrict IVF hope the groundwork the anti-abortion movement laid over the last 50 years will make it easier to persuade evangelicals to support these policies, and they’re recycling some of the messaging, including linking certain IVF practices with eugenics and calling the fertility industry ‘dangerous’ and ‘unregulated.’”
“The Republican Study Committee — a group comprising the majority of House GOP members — released a budget that includes language advocating for protections ‘at all stages of life,’ with no carveout for embryos fertilized through IVF.”
As families across the country are facing threats to IVF access, Trump’s MAGA minions in Congress are railing against IVF protections.
Associated Press: “Republicans block Senate bill to protect nationwide access to IVF treatments”
The Hill: “Senate Republicans blocked an effort Wednesday to pass legislation that would federally protect access to in vitro fertilization (IVF).”
CNN: “Johnson dismisses need for IVF legislation as GOP wrestles with reproductive issues”
“‘It’s not my belief that Congress needs to play a role here,’ the Louisiana Republican told reporters at the annual Republican issues conference held at The Greenbrier, a resort in West Virginia. ‘I think this is being handled by the states.’”
“In a remarkable split screen illustrating how the parties are handling the issue heading into November, Vice President Kamala Harris will visit a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota also later Thursday, marking a significant and high-level visit to an abortion provider where she is expected to walk through the facility and speak with staff about reproductive rights.”
“Efforts in the Democratically-controlled Senate to protect IVF have also struggled to advance, as a pair of legislative efforts were blocked by Republicans in recent weeks. Democrats tried to pass bills on IVF based on unanimous consent, a process that is faster than usual Senate procedure but allows any one Senate member to object to advancing the legislation, something Republican senators did both times.”
Over 100 House Republicans — including Speaker Mike Johnson — co-sponsoredthe Life at Conception Act, which could rip away access to IVF treatment.
Daily Beast: “Republicans Struggle to Explain Away Their Hypocrisy on IVF”
Business Insider: “Most House Republicans have cosponsored a bill declaring that life begins from the moment of conception, a position under increased scrutiny after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are ‘unborn children.’
“This Congress, 125 House Republicans — including Speaker Mike Johnson — have cosponsored the ‘Life at Conception Act,’ which states that the term ‘human being’ includes ‘all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.’
“The bill does not include any exception for in vitro fertilization (IVF), a reproductive treatment that allows mothers to fertilize several eggs outside the womb in order to increase the chances of a viable pregnancy.”
NBC News: “But with the landmark Roe ruling protecting those rights gone, efforts by conservative lawmakers and judges to advance fetal personhood bills pose a real threat to some fertility treatments, including IVF, reproductive rights advocates say.”
Politico: “Dozens of congressional Republicans have signed onto so-called personhood legislation with no carve-out for embryos in clinics, which, if enacted, would upend how the procedure is practiced in the United States.”
To be clear: These GOP attacks on IVF are made possible by Donald Trump, who continues to brag about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade and paving the way for extreme abortion bans across the country.
CNN: “How the reversal of Roe v. Wade led to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children”
New York Times: “[The Alabama ruling was] made possible by the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in its 2022 Dobbs decision, which was a result of Mr. Trump’s appointment of three justices.”
Trump: “For 54 years they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it, and I’m proud to have done it. … Nobody else was going to get that done but me, and we did it, and we did something that was a miracle.”
Trump: “I was able to kill Roe v. Wade… Without me there would be no 6 weeks, 10 weeks, 15 weeks, or whatever is finally agreed to. Without me the pro Life movement would have just kept losing. Thank you President TRUMP!!!”
Rolling Stone: “Trump Claims Credit for All Abortion Bans”
Business Insider: “Trump boasts he’s ‘proud’ about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade, the issue that has become ballot-box poison for Republicans”
Rolling Stone: “Trump Says He’s ‘Proud’ to Have ‘Terminated’ Abortion Rights”
FWIW: “This week, we found more evidence that the Trump campaign has no interest in ‘moderating’ on the issue of abortion. On Monday, his team began running new Facebook video ads targeting voters in Iowa, referring to Trump as ‘THE MOST Pro-Life President in history.’”
Trump campaign radio ad: “Trump nominated conservative judges, leading to Roe v. Wade being overturned.”
In response to House Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson claiming that January 6 insurrectionists were “innocent” and just “walking through the building,” DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
“Instead of trying to ‘protect’ January 6 insurrectionists, Mike Johnson should listen to the law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line to defend against this horrific attack on our Capitol and stop downplaying a violent attempt to overturn an election. Claiming that insurrectionists were ‘innocent’ and only ‘walking through the building’ isn’t just a slap in the face to law enforcement who were there — it’s also yet another desperate and dangerous attempt to whitewash a direct assault on our democracy.”
Mike Johnson urged supporters to “fight” on the morning of January 6 and has since tried to downplay the riot and prevent those who violently attacked law enforcement from being charged.
Johnson on January 6, 2021: “We MUST fight for election integrity, the Constitution, and the preservation of our republic! It will be my honor to help lead that fight in the Congress today.”
Louisiana Illuminator: “Johnson, who is close to Trump, did not acknowledge that the people who attacked the Capitol were the president’s supporters. He told a reporter that he thought there was a possibly a ‘big mix of people involved in this.’”
“‘I don’t think President Trump is any more responsible for what happened at the Capitol today than the congressmen of Portland are responsible for what happened there,’ said Johnson, referring to some violence that erupted in Oregon over the summer. ‘What caused [the Capitol riot] is the same thing that has caused all the unrest over the last many months.’”
2021: Johnson voted against creating an independent commission to investigate the January 6 attack.
NBC News: “Speaker Mike Johnson says he’s blurring Jan. 6 footage so rioters don’t get charged”
In addition to his work to “protect” insurrections, Johnson was an “architect” of Trump’s Big Lie — helping spread election conspiracy theories and leading the effort to overturn the 2020 election results.
HuffPost: “Johnson, a former lawyer, led an amicus brief signed by over 100 Republican members of Congress backing a flawed Texas lawsuit that asked the Supreme Court to overturn the 2020 election. He also played a key role in crafting the rationale that many of his GOP colleagues used in justifying their votes to throw out the 2020 election results ― even just hours after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.”
Washington Post: “Johnson played one of the most significant roles of any member of Congress in the effort to overturn the election.”
DNC Chair Jaime Harrison released the following statement:
“Lara Trump’s ‘music career’ is just like her time at the RNC so far: embarrassing, unserious, and a waste of money. But we can appreciate the effort – and wanted to help Lara tell her own story about how she and her fellow MAGA extremists at the RNC are broke and losing election after election. That’s why we’re excited to release our very first single, ‘Party’s Fallin’ Down,’ a summer party anthem about how the RNC is falling apart under Lara Trump and the rest of the new ultra-MAGA team. We didn’t put as much time and money into making our song since we’re busy with our record-breaking fundraising and supporting Democrats up and down the ballot, but Lara is by all means welcome to keep making music instead of trying to win elections.”
If you want to sing along:
[Verse 1]
Lara Trump, what’s going on?
You’re running the RNC, but it’s a sad song (sad song)
Fundraising’s low, can’t meet the mark
Republicans losing, it’s getting dark (oh-oh-oh)
[Chorus]
Oh Lara, Lara, what have you done? (what have you done?)
The party’s fallin’ down, it’s no longer fun
Oh Lara, Lara, can’t you see? (can’t you see?)
Your leadership’s sinking Trump’s GOP
[Verse 2]
Empty pockets, no money in sight
Candidates struggling, it’s a losing fight (losing fight)
Lara Trump, you doing okay?
The Republican Party’s seen better days (oh-oh-oh)
[Chorus]
Oh Lara, Lara, what have you done? (what have you done?)
MAGA Republicans stooped to new lows this week with their extremism, hypocrisy, chaos, and — as President Biden would call it — malarkey. In case you missed it: Donald Trump is bringing back crooks, cranks, and convicts to help his campaign; the RNC is asking potential staffers to prove their loyalty to Trump by denying the 2020 election results; the RNC’s disastrous fundraising is even worse than we thought; the RNC’s swing state battleground offices are in complete disarray; the Republican Study Committee is backing Trump’s plans to slash funding for law enforcement; MAGA Mike Johnson wanted to threaten access to telemedicine and abortion medication; and Republicans lost a Trump-won Alabama state House seat in a campaign that was heavily focused on reproductive freedom.
They’re getting the band back together: With Paul Manafort, Corey Lewandowski, and Roger Stone tapped for key campaign roles, Trump’s crew of crooks, cranks, and convicts are once again joining forces.
The Guardian: “Headache for campaign team as Trump gets the band back together”
“Paul Manafort, a veteran political consultant, could return as a campaign adviser later this year, according to the Washington Post newspaper. … Trump pardoned Manafort in 2020, seven months after he was released to home confinement, sparing the Republican operative from serving the bulk of his seven-and-a-half-year prison term for federal tax evasion and bank fraud.
“Meanwhile the New York Times reported that Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s first campaign manager in 2016, could also play a role at the convention. Lewandowski was ousted from a pro-Trump political action committee in 2021 after a major donor’s wife accused him of inappropriate behavior.”
“Meanwhile Roger Stone, a self-proclaimed dirty trickster who has been a friend and ally of Trump for 30 years, still speaks to him occasionally and was spotted at the Super Tuesday victory party at Mar-a-Lago. Stone was convicted of obstructing a congressional investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign and sentenced to 40 months in prison before the then president commuted the sentence.”
Those looking for a job at the RNC are facing a new litmus test: belief in the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
The Washington Post: “Was the 2020 election stolen? Job interviews at RNC take an unusual turn.”
“Those seeking employment at the Republican National Committee after a Donald Trump-backed purge of the committee this month have been asked in job interviews if they believe the 2020 election was stolen, according to people familiar with the interviews, making the false claim a litmus test of sorts for hiring.”
“The query about the 2020 election startled some of the potential employees, who viewed it as questioning their loyalty to Trump and as an unusual job interview question, according to the people familiar with the interviews.”
“The questions about the 2020 election were open-ended, two people familiar with the questioning said. ‘But if you say the election wasn’t stolen, do you really think you’re going to get hired?’ one former RNC employee asked.”
“Trump installed Michael Whatley, a loyalist from North Carolina, as the chairman of the party, along with daughter-in-law Lara Trump as co-chair. Trump has falsely maintained that the election was stolen since 2020 and has often endorsed candidates based on agreement with that belief. He is facing charges in federal court in Washington over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“Some Trump advisers have urged him for years to stop talking about the election, but he has largely resisted those entreaties.”
The RNC fundraising hole is far deeper than it looks, with millions of dollars “unusable for political spending.”
Daily Beast: “The RNC’s Fundraising Hole Is Even Deeper Than It Looks”
“A lot of the RNC’s recent fundraising—millions of dollars of it—is unusable for political spending. Instead, that money can only support a limited range of activities. (As luck would have it, much of that money can be spent on Donald Trump’s legal bills, potentially even to help pay down the judgments against him.)”
“The Daily Beast’s analysis of Federal Election Commission filings found that, of the roughly $22.3 million that the RNC has reported raising this year, more than $8 million of it—about 36 percent—cannot be used for political expenses. (At this same point in 2020, the money in the RNC’s Cromnibus accounts accounted for less than 10 percent—$7.5 million—of the total $77 million cash on hand.)”
“The party is navigating a cash crunch brought on by a combination of poor fundraising and heavy spending, while facing the prospect of devoting major resources to help shore up down-ballot candidates, financially troubled state parties, and its presidential nominee, Trump—who himself faces a fundraising crisis after siphoning tens of millions of dollars from supporters to fund his snowballing personal legal bills.”
After laying off key staff and threatening to close community outreach centers, the RNC is now scrambling to fundraise and hire qualified staffers at state headquarters in battleground states.
Axios: “Trump’s RNC struggles in swing states as Biden’s team grows”
“The Trump-led Republican National Committee is scrambling to boost staffs and give loyalty tests in seven battleground states at a time when several GOP state parties are plagued by dysfunction and disarray.”
“Less than eight months before the Nov. 5 election, significant parts of the RNC’s get-out-the-vote operation in states likely to decide the election are playing catch-up after Trump’s team ousted 60 staffers in its recent takeover.”
“In [job] interviews, Trump’s team has asked some candidates whether they believe the 2020 election was stolen, the Washington Post first reported.”
“Trump’s RNC initially cut the party’s community centers for minority voters and a program to encourage early voting, but reinstated them after a backlash within the party.”
“Many Republicans fear the RNC upheaval — and unrelated chaos in state parties, particularly in swing states Michigan and Arizona — is a setback for a party that for years has tried to get more volunteers to recruit support in their neighborhoods.”
Axios: “The AZGOP is selling the headquarters it bought 9 months ago”
“The big picture: The AZGOP has been plagued by dysfunction and poor fundraising over the past few years, just as it attempts to fight back against recent Democratic political gains.”
The Republican Study Committee’s extreme proposed budget would slash funding for law enforcement and make our communities less safe.
Republican Study Committee FY 2025 Budget Proposal: “COPS was created in the 1990s as a means to support state and local law enforcement agencies with expenses like salaries, court programs, and juvenile justice programs. … the RSC Budget would support a reduction to this program.”
CNN: “Some lawmakers on the far right such as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida and Paul Gosar of Arizona, have carried Trump’s mantel in calling for a full defund of the FBI.”
Sahil Kapur, NBC News: “Donald Trump pressures Republicans to defund the (federal) police.”
Jonathan Allen, NBC News: “When Trump was president, he proposed slashing federal funding for local police forces.”
In an unearthed 2020 rant, MAGA Mike Johnson railed against access to medication abortion and telemedicine that provides women with necessary reproductive health care.
Johnson: “One of the things we’re trying to be on the lookout for is the rise, the use of chemical abortions because there’s this move towards telemedicine and off-site medical treatment and that kind of thing. So there will be a push and, you know,the other side will say, ‘This is very compassionate, what about the evolving nature of medicine, we need to be able to treat people remotely, and so we’ll just mail them a chemical that will induce the abortion’ — a pill or syringe or whatever it is.
“We have to be very vigilant about that, the states are going to have to ramp up regulation of off-site medical treatment — and those are good innovations because it helps a lot of people when you’re talking about true medical help. But in the abortion industry, Planned Parenthood and the abortion cartels are going to try their best to maximize profits with that of course, because they always put profit over people. And we’ve got to be watching for that, that’s going to be one of these new emerging areas, I think, as telemedicine takes off and becomes more common and more prevalent.So particularly out in the rural areas, you know, it’s going to be a big thing to watch.
“So we’ll have some legislation to try and address that as well, but again, I keep coming back to the same issue that, you know, it really comes down to the election if … the pro-abortion Democrats are allowed to maintain control of the House, we’re kind of stuck on go because we can’t move this important legislation. And they’re never going to allow it in any of the larger bills. So we got to be really active and engaged in this cycle.”
Republicans lost a state House seat in an Alabama district that Trump won in 2020 by an unexpectedly large margin due to their cruel, unpopular support abortion bans and threats to IVF access.
New York Times: “Democrat Running on Abortion and I.V.F. Access Wins Special Election in Alabama”
Semafor: “The Alabama Democrat flipped a seat in Trump country”
“Democrats triumphed in yet another special election focused on abortion rights Tuesday night, when Alabama’s Marilyn Lands flipped a Republican state House seat in an unexpectedly lopsided vote.
“Democrats keep over-performing in post-Dobbs special elections, especially when they’re held in suburbs — any suburbs.”
NBC: “Democratic candidate Marilyn Lands on Tuesday won a special election for a state House seat in Alabama after she made in vitro fertilization and abortion rights central to her campaign.
“Lands had 63% of the vote to Powell’s 37% with all precincts reporting.”
In response to the Republican Study Committee pushing a blueprint to defund law enforcement and make communities less safe, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
“MAGA Republicans are making their priorities clear: pushing a soft-on-crime agenda to defund law enforcement as Donald Trump promises to pardon violent insurrectionists and fill the ranks of the party with convicted criminals.”
The Republican Study Committee’s new budget proposes slashing funding for law enforcement and community safety.
Republican Study Committee FY 2025 Budget Proposal: “COPS was created in the 1990s as a means to support state and local law enforcement agencies with expenses like salaries, court programs, and juvenile justice programs. … the RSC Budget would support a reduction to this program.”
Trump is pressuring his MAGA minions to defund law enforcement, just like he tried to do every year in office as murder rates skyrocketed…
Sahil Kapur, NBC News: “Donald Trump pressures Republicans to defund the (federal) police.”
MSNBC: “Trump joins other Republicans in pushing to ‘defund the FBI’”
Jonathan Allen, NBC News: “When Trump was president, he proposed slashing federal funding for local police forces.”
Wall Street Journal: “The [Trump] administration’s 2021 budget, like all its previous budgets, recommended eliminating the Community Relations Services and Community Oriented Policing Services and placing their functions under other parts of the department to ‘improve efficiency.’”
“President Trump has repeatedly proposed cuts in federal funding for police, criticized landmark legislation that boosted financial support for police departments, and is currently involved in blocking legislation that would greatly reduce pressure on local governments to cut police funding. In layman’s terms, he’s been trying to defund the police.”
Associated Press: “FBI: 2020 homicides up nearly 30%, largest 1-year jump ever”
Philadelphia Inquirer: “The Council on Criminal Justice, a D.C.-based research group, found that homicides in 21 American cities were up 32% between March and October compared with 2019. And some analysts believe 2020 could record the largest-ever single-year increase in murders in the United States.”
… and Republicans are falling in line. MAGA Mike Johnson claims the GOP “stands for the rule of law,” but congressional Republicans have repeatedly threatened to gut or abolish federal law enforcement.
CNN: “Some lawmakers on the far right such as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida and Paul Gosar of Arizona, have carried Trump’s mantel in calling for a full defund of the FBI.”
CNN: “In January, an effort to pass a resolution expressing support for law enforcement agencies, which was meant to serve as a messaging tool, fell apart. The House GOP’s behind-the-scenes disagreements reflect growing divisions inside the conference over whether to defund or restrict the Department of Justice and FBI. The contentious political issue is returning to center stage as CNN has learned that some House Republicans are actively sketching out ways to limit certain federal law enforcement programs through the appropriations process.”
The Hill: “GOP Rep Chip Roy threatens to defund DOJ, DHS”
Matt Gaetz: “I don’t care if it takes every second of our time, and every ounce of our energy, we either get this government back on our side or we defund and get rid of, abolish the FBI, CDC, ATF, DOJ,every last one of them if they do not come to heel.”
Reminder: Every single Republican voted AGAINST the American Rescue Plan, which included hundreds of billions of dollars for state and local governments that could be used to boost local law enforcement.
ABC News: “President Joe Biden will announce Friday that $10 billion from the American Rescue Plan has been committed to police departments and public safety across the U.S. … These funds show what has been reported from cities through the end of 2021. The COVID-19 relief law included $350 billion for state and local governments to reduce violence.”
White House: “The American Rescue Plan (ARP) has provided over $15 billion to prevent crime and promote public safety, including community violence intervention programs and crisis responders, while Bipartisan Safer Community Act —the most significant gun safety legislation in the last 30 years—provides $250 million in funding for community-based violence prevention initiatives, in addition to key investments for schools to expand mental health services and violence intervention programs.”
Trump not only sides with violent January 6 insurrectionists over law enforcement — he’s also promised to pardon them.
Business Insider: “Then-President Donald Trump didn’t want to specifically call for the Justice Department to prosecute January 6 rioters or forcefully condemn those who stormed the Capitol as unrepresentative of the MAGA movement, according to draft remarks obtained by the House committee investigating the attack. In a video posted Monday, the committee showed an excerpt of prepared remarks for Trump’s January 7, 2021, pre-recorded address to the nation. … The president did not give a more specific and forceful call for the Justice Department to prosecute those involved.”
Washington Post: “No, Trump did not order 10,000 troops to secure the Capitol on Jan. 6”
“As we have documented before, President Donald Trump never requested 10,000 National Guard troops to secure the Capitol that day. He threw out a number, in casual conversation, that is now regarded by his supporters as a lifeline to excuse his inaction when a mob inspired by his rhetoric invaded the Capitol.”
Washington Post: “Trump vows pardons, government apology to Capitol rioters if elected”
Buck Sexton: “Will there be a lot of pardons and commutations of people you think were treated unfairly, J6 defendants, January 6 defendants under an administration, your administration?”
Trump: “Yes, absolutely. They were treated horribly … We had people put in jail for five, six, seven years who didn’t do anything wrong. And yes, that will happen very quickly.”
The Hill: “Trump describes imprisoned Jan. 6 rioters as ‘hostages’”
NBC News: “Former President Donald Trump promised Wednesday night that if he is elected he will pardon a ‘large portion’ of the people convicted of federal offenses for their participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.”
Washington Post: “Former president Donald Trump on Thursday praised and embraced a woman convicted of defying police orders on the U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021. … Trump has steadily escalated his advocacy for people charged in the Capitol riot, including by pledging to pardon them if he returns to the White House, praising them as patriots, participating in a recording with Jan. 6 prisoners singing the national anthem, and playing it at his first rally of the 2024 campaign last month.”
Trump: “January 6, it was the largest crowd I’ve ever spoken to. And they were there proud, they were there with love in their heart. That was an unbelievable — and it was a beautiful day.”
NBC News: “Trump spoke at a fundraiser for Jan. 6 defendants”
In celebration of Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting the work that President Biden and Vice President Harris are doing every day to fight for women across America — from protecting reproductive freedom to securing economic equity and opportunity. At the same time, MAGA Republicans up and down the ballot are trying to turn back the clock and undermine women’s rights.
DNC Director of Outreach Communications Tracy King released the following statement:
“Trailblazer Shirley Chisholm once said, ‘At present, our country needs women’s idealism and determination, perhaps more in politics than anywhere else,’ and from day one of the Biden-Harris administration, they have delivered on making that a reality. President Biden and Vice President Harris are making good on their promise to ensure that women have a seat at every table in their administration. From his historic selection of Kamala Harris to serve as vice president to his nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to serve on the highest court in the land and his appointment of a record number of women leaders across the federal government, President Biden has been a champion for bringing the ideas, brilliance, and perspectives of women to the table throughout his presidency and career. That record stands in sharp contrast to Donald Trump, who regularly undermines women and threatens their rights and autonomy — and he’s going to see our power firsthand at the ballot box this November.”
President Biden chose the first Black and the first Asian American woman to serve as vice president of the United States.
CBS News: “Kamala Harris to make history as the first Black woman vice president”
“Her next position reads as a litany of firsts: she will be the first woman vice president, the first Black vice president, the first Asian American vice president and the first Democratic vice president from the West Coast.
“Harris’ ascension to the second-highest elected office of the land comes 100 years after the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote, and 55 years after the Voting Rights Act codified voting protections for Black Americans. It is also just over 52 years since Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to Congress on November 5, 1968. Only two Black women — including Harris — have ever been elected to the U.S. Senate, and no Black woman has ever served as a state governor.”
“In many ways, Harris’ election as vice president represents the achievement of the American dream, as she is the daughter of a mother who emigrated from India and a Jamaican immigrant father. She attended Howard University, a prominent historically Black university, and is a proud member of the all-Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha.”
The 19th News: “Kamala Harris applauds Biden’s ‘audacity to choose a Black woman to be his running mate’”
President Biden nominated the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The 19th News: “President Joe Biden entered the White House two years ago this month, bringing with him a promise to help diversify the nation’s highest court by nominating a Black woman.
“He fulfilled that commitment in June when Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. While Jackson’s historic confirmation was the most visible sign of systemic change in the judiciary, the president has prioritized diversity throughout the federal court system. Biden’s judicial appointees are the most diverse of any U.S. president to date in terms of race, gender and professional background.”
President Biden delivered on his promise to diversify the federal judiciary, appointing a record number of female judges and judges of color.
HuffPost: “Joe Biden Has Confirmed 150 Federal Judges. 100 Of Them Are Women.”
The 19th News: “Two years in, Biden has prioritized nominating women of color as judges”
Pew Research Center: “Most of Biden’s judge appointees are women, racial or ethnic minorities”
“Nearly two-thirds of the federal judges President Joe Biden has appointed so far are women, and the same share are members of racial or ethnic minority groups, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of statistics from the Federal Judicial Center.”
The Hill: “Of these, record numbers are women, people of color, and people who are historic ‘firsts’ or ‘onlies’: The first individuals from an underrepresented community to serve on their particular bench. Right now, more than one-third of all Black women federal judges in U.S. history have been nominated by Biden. At the appellate court level, President Biden has named more Black women to the circuit courts (13) than all of his predecessors combined (eight).”
AsAmNews: “So far, the U.S. Senate has confirmed a record 29 Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander judges nominated by the President. 20 of those nominees have been women. More AANHPI women have been confirmed under Biden than the three previous administrations combined.”
The Biden-Harris administration has confirmed a record number of female Cabinet secretaries.
ABC News: “Biden Cabinet picks feature record number of women and women of color”
“Twelve of Biden’s nominations for Cabinet and Cabinet-level positions are women, including eight women of color, and if they’re all confirmed it would shatter former President Bill Clinton’s record of nine women serving concurrently, which happened during his second term.”
NPR: “Deb Haaland, a member of New Mexico’s Laguna Pueblo, has become the first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history.”
CNBC: “Meet the 5 women appointed to President-elect Joe Biden’s White House senior staff”
“On Tuesday, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris tweeted out who will be part of their senior White House staff. Showing a diverse group of nine individuals, including four men and five women, Biden and Harris reminded the public again of their ‘commitment to building an administration that looks like America.’”
President Biden made history by appointing the first-ever Senate-confirmed openly trans woman to serve as an official in the federal government.
NPR: “Rachel Levine Makes History As 1st Openly Trans Federal Official Confirmed By Senate”
“The Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Dr. Rachel Levine as assistant secretary for health in the Department of Health and Human Services.”
“In a statement in January about the nomination, President Biden said Levine ‘will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic — no matter their ZIP code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability — and meet the public health needs of our country in this critical moment and beyond.”
Donald Trump’s Cabinet was older, whiter, and richer than most cabinets.
New York Times: “Trump’s Cabinet So Far Is More White and Male Than Any First Cabinet Since Reagan’s”
“If Mr. Trump’s remaining nominees are confirmed, women and nonwhites will hold six of 24 cabinet or cabinet-level positions.”
“Those six members will also be in some of the lowest-ranking positions. None of them are in the so-called inner cabinet, the four positions in place since George Washington’s presidency: the attorney general and the secretaries of state, Treasury and defense (formerly called the secretary of war).”
Politico: “Trump’s Cabinet by the numbers: White, wealthy and light on women”
“President Donald Trump promised a break with precedent while in the Oval Office, and in picking his Cabinet, he delivered.
“No Hispanics. A secretary of State with no government experience. Two former
Generals. A host of high-powered business executives beginning their government careers at the top. And a sharp break in a decades-long trend of increasing Cabinet diversity.”
BBC News: “All-male White House health bill photo sparks anger”
“There is a familiarity about this photo, and it could have been taken in many boardrooms around the world – men gathered around a table making plans and cutting deals.
“But the lack of women here, among a group of conservative Republicans discussing their healthcare bill with the vice-president, struck a particular nerve.”
Trump’s judicial appointments were overwhelmingly white men – and not a single one of his appellate judges was Black.
The Guardian: “The numbers tell a clear story. There are a total of 816 active federal judges comprising the supreme court, the 13 appellate courts, and 91 district courts. In just one term Trump was able to appoint 28% of those judges due to past and continuing vacancies. Most importantly, he appointed 33% of America’s nine supreme court justices and 30% of the appellate judges. The vast majority of his appointments were white males – not one of his 54 appellate judges is Black.”
The 19th: “Of the judges appointed by Biden in the past two years, 75 percent are women, 47 percent are women of color and 67 percent are people of color. This stands in stark contrast to his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, who two years into his presidency had appointed 85 judges, 92 percent of whom were White, 23 percent were women and 2 percent were women of color, according to analysis by The 19th. Biden has also prioritized nominating lawyers from professional backgrounds that are underrepresented in the federal judiciary.”
Put simply, you can learn a lot about Trump’s opinions on women not only from his actions as president but from his own words.
In observance of Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colors, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and DNC AAPI Caucus Chair Bel Leong-Hong released the following statement:
“As we mark the beginning of spring with Holi, the Festival of Colors, we join the millions of Hindu Americans celebrating the triumph of light over darkness and hope over despair. Even in our most challenging times, we embrace the restorative power of light and continue to hope for a better future for all of our people. We welcome Holi’s reminder that new beginnings are always right around the corner, and as we gather to express our gratitude for this season of change, we hope spring will bring renewal, joy, happiness, and prosperity for all.”
MAGA Republicans stooped to new lows this week with their extremism, hypocrisy, chaos, and — as President Biden would call it — malarkey. In case you missed it: The Republican Study Committee proposed a new extreme MAGA budget that pushes Donald Trump’s unpopular priorities, including cuts to Social Security and Medicare; Trump once again signaled his support for a national abortion ban; he also doubled down on his endorsement of political violence and used dehumanizing rhetoric to describe undocumented immigrants at a campaign rally in Ohio; he claimed that Jews who do not support him are antisemitic; and he is considering hiring convicted felon Paul Manafort and scandal-plagued Corey Lewandowski to help with the Republican National Convention.
Meanwhile, Trump is still centering his campaign on the January 6 riot, he is still coming after the Affordable Care Act, and he is still underperforming in the GOP primary; new RNC Chair Michael Whatley somehow thinks Americans are worse off today than they were during Trump’s disastrous presidency; Trump is considering conspiracy theorist Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Homeland Security; and MAGA extremist Lauren Boebert became the latest Republican to take credit for federal money brought into her district that she voted against.
The Republican Study Committee took inspiration from Donald Trump’s extreme agenda for their new budget proposal, which includes an extreme national abortion ban and ending Social Security and Medicare as we know them.
Rolling Stone: “House Republicans Endorse National Abortion Ban”
The Hill: “The budget also backs legislation that would put restrictions on abortion, which could threaten in vitro fertilization (IVF).”
Bloomberg: “Republicans Call for Retirement Age Hike in Clash With Biden”
Axios: “RSC budget revives conservative health priorities”
“The health care section … calls for killing the Inflation Reduction Act and its drug price provisions. … It would remove many of the Affordable Care Act’s protections for pre-existing conditions.”
Bloomberg: “The conservative Republican Study Committee is out with a 2025 budget proposal to extend individual and corporate breaks from the 2017 Trump’ tax law.”
Daily Caller: “The RSC supports defunding the ‘red flag’ provisions from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, according to the budget proposal.”
Trump once again signaled that he would back a national abortion ban.
New York Times: “Trump Indicates He Would Back a 15-Week Federal Abortion Ban”
“The comments, which Mr. Trump made Tuesday on the WABC radio show ‘Sid & Friends in the Morning,’ are in line with previous reporting that he had privately expressed support for a 16-week ban. But saying it publicly ties him concretely to a position that has been toxic for many Republicans.”
The Hill: “‘The number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15, and I’m thinking in terms of that, and it’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable,’ Trump said on a New York-based radio show. ‘But people are really, even hard-liners are agreeing … 15 weeks seems to be a number that people are agreeing at. But I’ll make that announcement at the appropriate time.’”
At a rally in Ohio, Trump promised a “bloodbath” if he loses in November and said undocumented immigrants are “not people.”
The Hill: “Former President Trump denounced some undocumented immigrants as ‘not people’ and warned of a ‘blood bath’ if he is not reelected at a chaotic rally in Ohio on Saturday night.”
“‘I don’t know if you call them people,’ he said at the rally. ‘In some cases they’re not people, in my opinion. But I’m not allowed to say that because the radical left says that’s a terrible thing to say.’
“Trump also predicted a dire scene if he loses the November election, claiming Biden would tank the U.S. economy.
“‘If I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a blood bath for the whole — that’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a blood bath for the country,’ Trump said while discussing his proposal for steep tariffs on vehicle imports.”
Trump doubled down on his antisemitic record by claiming that Jews who vote for Democrats “hate Israel” and “hate their religion.”
Trump: “Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats, hates their religion, they hate everything about Israel, and they should be ashamed of themselves.”
New York Times: “Trump Says Jews Who Support Democrats ‘Hate Israel’ and ‘Their Religion’”
Associated Press: “US Jews upset with Trump’s latest rhetoric say he doesn’t get to tell them how to be Jewish”
“To many Jewish leaders in a demographic that has overwhelmingly identified as Democratic and supported President Joe Biden in 2020, Trump’s latest comments promoted harmful antisemitic stereotypes, painting Jews as having divided loyalties and that there’s only one right way to be Jewish religiously.”
Despite the RNC and his campaign’s continued cash-strapped chaos, Trump is considering reuniting with Corey Lewandowski and convicted felon Paul Manafort to help run the Republican National Convention.
New York Times: Manafort in Talks to Return for the Republican National Convention
New York Times: Corey Lewandowski, Another Ousted Trump Official, May Get Republican Convention Role
Axios: “Trump’s team is in talks to hire 2016 campaign advisers Paul Manafort and Corey Lewandowski, The Washington Post and The New York Times first reported. Manafort spent two years in prison on a 7½-year sentence for bank and tax fraud before being freed because of the COVID pandemic. Lewandowski, who was fired in 2016 as Trump’s first campaign manager, was removed from a pro-Trump PAC in 2021 after the wife of a major donor accused him of inappropriate behavior.
“Longtime political operative and Trump confidant Roger Stone — who was convicted of obstructing a congressional probe into Trump’s 2016 campaign and sentenced to 40 months in prison before Trump commuted the sentence — has been a frequent presence at Mar-a-Lago lately.”
Trump continues to center his campaign around the Big Lie and claims that January 6 insurrectionists are “hostages” and “patriots” who ought to be pardoned.
Associated Press: “Trump is making the Jan. 6 attack a cornerstone of his bid for theWhite House”
“Republican Donald Trump has launched his general election campaign not merely rewriting the history of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, but positioning the violent siege and its failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election as a cornerstone of his bid to return to the White House.
“At a weekend rally in Ohio, his first as the presumed Republican Party presidential nominee, Trump stood onstage, his hand raised in salute to the brim of his red MAGA hat, as a recorded chorus of prisoners in jail for their roles in the Jan. 6 attack sang the national anthem.
“An announcer asked the crowd to please rise ‘for the horribly and unfairly treated January 6th hostages.’ And people did, and sang along.
“‘They were unbelievable patriots,’ Trump said as the recording ended.”
Semafor: “How Donald Trump learned to love the January 6 prisoner movement”
“The former president and presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee has put the devoted supporters charged with January 6 crimes at the heart of his campaign. He began his first major campaign rally last March firing up the Waco, Texas crowd by playing ‘Justice for All,’ a song he helped produce with the ‘J6 Prison Choir.’ It has since become a staple of his events. On Truth Social last week, Trump wrote that one of his ‘first acts as your next President’ would be to ‘Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned.’”
CBS News: “Trump says he’ll free Jan. 6 defendants as one of ‘first acts’ if he’s elected again”
As we mark the 14th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act this week, here’s a reminder that Trump wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act if reelected after coming up one vote short when he was in office.
Daily Beast: “Trump Revives Plan to Dismantle Obamacare if Elected in 2024”
The Hill: “In a Truth Social post, the leading GOP presidential candidate claimed he’s ‘seriously looking at alternatives’ to replace ObamaCare, and that the failure to repeal the health law in 2017 while he was in office was ‘a low point for the Republican Party.’”
Mediaite: “‘OBAMACARE SUCKS!!!’ Trump Rants About New Plan — Years After He Promised It Was ‘Two Weeks’ Away”
Trump continues to underperform in Republican primaries across the country.
Axios: “Trump wins 5 primaries, but protest vote looms large”
“Trump, the only GOP candidate still running for president and the party’s presumed nominee, once again saw a big percentage of Republican voters — almost 20% in most of Tuesday’s contests — cast ballots for someone else.
“Most of those non-Trump votes in Ohio, Arizona, Florida, Kansas and Illinois went to former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, who suspended her campaign two weeks ago.
“The results were the latest warning signs that a sizable percentage of GOP voters may not show up for Trump in November, complicating his push to defeat President Biden.”
“18% of Republican primary voters in Ohio said that they wouldn’t support Trump in November, with 10% of those voters saying they prefer Biden, per ABC News’ analysis of preliminary exit poll results.”
RNC Chair Michael Whatley asked voters if they were better off today than four years ago, when the stock market was in free fall and store shelves were left barren during Trump’s failed COVID response.
Associated Press: “Biden is using the ‘are you better off today’ question to contrast himself with Trump”
“‘Speaking of Donald Trump, just a few days ago, he asked the famous question at one of his rallies: Are you better off today than you were four years ago?’ Biden said at a pair of Dallas-area campaign fundraisers, one of which brought in $2.5 million, one of the hosts said.
“‘Well Donald, I’m glad you asked that question man because I hope everyone in the country takes a moment to think back when it was like in March of 2020,’ Biden said.
“The Democratic president reminded the audience that the coronavirus had reached America, hospital emergency rooms were overcrowded, first responders were risking their lives to care for the sick and some nurses wore trash bags due to the scarcity of personal protective equipment.
“Morgues were being set up outside of hospitals because so many people were dying, unemployment shot up, the stock market crashed and grocery store shelves were bare, Biden said.
“‘And we were even in a toilet paper crisis,’ he added, before he began to describe a turnaround after Trump.
“‘Donald Trump is no longer president, that’s the first thing,’ Biden said, adding that COVID is under control, 15 million jobs returned and the stock market rebounded.
“There’s also a view that the public largely has forgotten the turbulence of Trump’s presidency and that, to win reelection, Biden needs to remind them of what it was like as he presents himself as the more stable alternative.”
Trump is eyeing MAGA conspiracy theorist Vivek Ramaswamy to head up the Department of Homeland Security.
Ramaswamy: “I want to be very clear about this. I think that birthright citizenship does not and should not apply to the kids of parents who entered this country illegally.”
NBC News: “Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says that as president, he would deport American-born children of undocumented immigrants. ‘The family unit will be deported,’ said Ramaswamy when asked by NBC News if the deportations would include American-born children.”
The New Republic: “The former Republican primary hopeful had some horrific plans for immigration law, including using the military as law enforcement. He promised to deport all Dreamers, of whom there are about 700,000, and force them to reapply for citizenship.”
Politico: “Ramaswamy: I ‘don’t believe’ the 9/11 Commission report”
NBC News: “Vivek Ramaswamy suggests ‘the truth’ about 9/11 is still unknown”
Trump’s MAGA minion Lauren Boebert is once again taking credit for federal funding for Colorado projects that she voted against.
Business Insider: “Earlier this month, Rep. Lauren Boebert voted against a must-pass government funding bill that contained more than $20 million for the Colorado district she’s now abandoning.
“On Monday night, she celebrated the impending arrival of that funding anyway.
“‘Can’t wait for the ribbon cuttings and to see these priorities come to fruition,’ the congresswoman said in a release, listing 10 different projects across the state’s 3rd congressional district that are set to benefit from an influx of federal dollars.”
“Boebert was among 40 House Republicans who voted on March 6 against the so-called ‘minibus’ — which funds vast swaths of the federal government — despite having secured federal funding for their districts.”
