The Full Belmonte, 5/28/2023
Epic test for Biden, McCarthy
Speaker McCarthy delivers Chipotle as reporters wait for news on Capitol Hill yesterday. Photo: Patrick Semansky/AP
“President Biden and Speaker McCarthy finally have a tentative debt-ceiling deal, struck on a holiday Saturday phone call and revealed at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Now they have to rush it through a balky Congress before the projected default date of June 5 — a week from tomorrow, Axios' Andrew Solender and Juliegrace Brufke report.
Why it matters: The stakes are especially high for McCarthy, whose survival as speaker could be at stake if he can't contain the anger of right-wing Republicans, some of whom are already panning the compromise.
McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol just after 9 p.m. ET: ‘We still have a lot of work to do.’
Biden said in a written statement that the ‘agreement in principle ... represents a compromise.’
State of play: A source close to House GOP leadership told Axios that perhaps 60 conservative Republicans will be against it.
That means McCarthy could need votes from nearly that many Democrats to pass the plan.
Biden needs to deliver those votes despite wariness among progressives.
Here's what's in the deal:
It raises the debt ceiling until 2025 — past the next presidential election — and keeps non-defense discretionary spending steady. Democrats see those as victories.
Republicans wanted, and got, new work requirements for people who are on welfare, a boost in defense spending, and clawbacks of unspent COVID aid and IRS funding.
Another significant GOP win is what's not in the deal — tax increases or any other revenue-raisers.
Between the lines: McCarthy can likely afford to lose dozens of conservatives' support when the House votes on the plan later this week. What he can't do, however, is anger those members so much they trigger a motion to oust him.
Under rules McCarthy agreed to in January to secure enough conservative GOP votes to be elected speaker, just one House member can bring a ‘motion to vacate,’ and force a vote to remove the speaker.
So far, no one has threatened that. But the rhetoric was heated Saturday.
The other side: Some Democrats, already fuming about being excluded from the negotiating table, are distressed that the White House isn't doing enough to give them cover to vote for the bill.
Progressives have objections about the work requirements and energy-permitting changes in the deal, according to two House Democrats.” [Axios]
Texas A.G. impeached
The voting board is lit mostly in green as the Texas House votes to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton in Austin yesterday. Photo: Eric Gay/AP
“The GOP-dominated Texas House voted 121-23 to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, a historic decision that immediately removes the Republican from office as he awaits a Senate trial, Axios Austin's Nicole Cobler reports.
Why it matters: Paxton becomes just the third Texas state official to be impeached, and the first in 48 years. The others were Gov. James ‘Pa’ Ferguson in 1917 and a district judge in 1975.
Catch up quick: A Republican-led House General Investigating Committee filed 20 articles of impeachment against Paxton after months of secret deliberation.
The committee alleged a ‘long-standing pattern of abuse of office and public trust,’ including bribery and obstruction of justice.
Committee members, who unanimously voted to send the articles of impeachment to the full House, have said that the investigation began because of Paxton's request for the Legislature to pay a $3.3 million settlement of a whistleblower lawsuit against him.
Four former aides filed the lawsuit, claiming that Paxton fired them in retaliation after they accused him of bribery and abuse of office.
Back in 2020, it was reported that Paxton had an extramarital affair with a woman whom he later recommended for a job with a wealthy donor at the center of the impeachment allegations.
Behind the scenes: As impeachment proceedings began, Paxton personally called House members threatening them with political retribution if they voted in favor, Rep. Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth), a member of the House General Investigating Committee, said on the House floor.
Former President Trump applied more pressure on Republicans less than a half hour before the House convened, calling the vote ‘election interference.’
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called the proceedings a ‘travesty,’ adding that ‘the swamp in Austin wants him out.’
It isn't clear when the Senate trial will take place.” [Axios]
Colleges Will Be Able to Hide a Student’s Race on Admissions Applications
If requested, the Common App will conceal basic information on race and ethnicity — a move that could help schools if the Supreme Court ends affirmative action.
May 26, 2023
“Each year, the million or so students applying to college through the Common App are given the option to check a box, disclosing whether they identify as Hispanic, Asian, Black or white, among other choices.
Now, with the U.S. Supreme Court expected to rule soon against race-conscious admissions — and with colleges wanting to follow the law — the Common App has made a pre-emptive move on what is known as the “race box.”
Beginning Aug. 1, colleges will be able to hide the information in those boxes from their own admissions teams, said Jenny Rickard, chief executive of the Common App, in an interview.
The new option will help colleges comply ‘with whatever legal standard the Supreme Court will set in regards to race in admissions,’ Common App said in a statement. A nonprofit, Common App administers a universal application used by more than 1,000 colleges and universities….” Read more at New York Times
Insecure' Russians launch largest drone attack, say West 'playing with fire': Live Ukraine updates
USA TODAY
“Kyiv was subjected to the ‘most massive’ drone attack since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began 15 months ago, a five-hour bombardment as the ancient city prepared to celebrate the anniversary of its founding.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said preliminary information indicated Kyiv's air defenses shot down more than 40 drones. Debris from hit drone fell onto a gas station in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district, killing one person and injuring at least one, he said. Debris from another drone fell onto a seven-story building in the district, partly destroying one of its sides and causing a fire, Klitschko said.
Kyiv Day marks the anniversary of Kyiv’s official founding. The day is usually celebrated with live concerts, street fairs, exhibitions and fireworks. Scaled-back festivities were planned for this year, the city’s 1,541st anniversary….” Read more at USA Today
FBI files reveal plot to kill Queen Elizabeth during US trip in 1983
Document says man claimed he would attempt to harm monarch while she was visiting California
“An FBI file relating to a visit to the US by the late Queen Elizabeth II has revealed a potential plot to assassinate her.
The document, available on the FBI’s online vault, outlines what appears to be intelligence provided to federal agents about a threat to the queen’s life in California 40 years ago.
Queen Elizabeth and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, made an official visit to the US west coast in February and March 1983.
The file states that a phone call was made by ‘a man who claimed that his daughter had been killed in Northern Ireland by a rubber bullet’.
It adds: ‘This man additionally claimed that he was going to attempt to harm Queen Elizabeth and would do this either by dropping some object off the Golden Gate Bridge on to the royal yacht Britannia when it sails underneath, or would attempt to kill Queen Elizabeth when she visited Yosemite national park.’
The file refers to a club that ‘has a popular reputation as a republican bar that is frequented by sympathisers with the Provisional Irish Republican Army’.
Another document, among more than 100 pages published online by the FBI, this time relating to the queen’s state visit to the US in 1991, reveals concerns that Irish groups were planning to protest at the monarch’s attendance at a baseball game as well as a White House event. The information came from a Philadelphia Irish paper titled Irish Edition.
The file said: ‘The article stated anti-British feelings are running high as a result of well-publicised injustices inflicted on the Birmingham Six by the corrupt English judicial system and the recent rash of brutal murders of unarmed Irish nationalists in the six counties by loyalist death squads.’
‘Though the article contained no threats against the president or the queen, the statements could be viewed as being inflammatory. The article stated that an Irish group had reserved a large block of grandstand tickets.’
A separate file among the documents, dated 1989, said that while the FBI was unaware of any specific threats against the queen, ‘the possibility of threats against the British monarchy is ever present from the Irish Republican Army’.
The queen’s second cousin, Lord Mountbatten, was killed in an IRA bombingin County Sligo in Ireland in 1979.” [The Guardian]
MONDAY
“The last Monday in May is Memorial Day — a day to honor the men and women who died while serving in the US military. Initially known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.
TUESDAY
Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is expected to report to prison after her last-minute bid to avoid starting her sentence was denied by an appellate court earlier this month. Holmes was originally due to begin serving her 11-year sentence for defrauding investors on April 27 but filed an appeal seeking to remain free on bail while she fought to overturn her conviction.
WEDNESDAY
Some Amazon corporate workers have announced plans to walk off the job over frustrations with the company’s return-to-work policies, among other issues, in a sign of heightened tensions at the e-commerce giant after multiple rounds of layoffs. The work stoppage is being jointly organized by an internal climate justice worker group and a remote work advocacy group, according to an email from organizers and public social media posts. Workers participating have two main demands: that Amazon put climate impact at the forefront of its decision-making, and that the company provide greater flexibility for how and where employees work.
THURSDAY
June 1 marks the beginning of Pride Month, when the world’s LGBTQ communities come together and celebrate the freedom to be themselves.
FRIDAY
If it's the first Friday of the month, it's employment report day. We will see how many jobs the US economy added in May following April's surprising increase — and what the numbers mean for you, your employer and the Federal Reserve.
And we'll end the workweek on a high note: It's also National Donut Day!” [CNN]
Boston Celtics' buzzer-beater in final second forces Game 7 against Miami Heat
USA TODAY
“The Miami Heat’s last best chance to eliminate the Boston Celtics disintegrated with a Derrick White put-back as time expired in Game 6 on Saturday
The Celtics defeated the Heat, 104-103, setting up a final game in the Eastern Conference Finals.
White grabbed a rebound near the rim on a missed Marcus Smart 3-point attempt and made the game-winning basket.
‘Our guys talk about just crashing at the end of the game, giving it a chance, and D-White made a great play,’ Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. ‘Smart made a great play getting open to get a shot off, and D-White made a great play.’
White's basket was the second buzzer-beater in NBA history by a player whose team was facing elimination and trailing at the time of the shot, according to the Celtics public relations department. The other? Chicago's Michael Jordan made a game-winning shot over Cleveland's Craig Ehlo in 1989.
The Celtics squandered a 98-88 lead with 3:41 left in the fourth and trailed 103-102 after Miami’s Jimmy Butler made three free throws with three seconds go to.
‘Basketball for you,’ Butler said. ‘Basketball at its finest. Very, very, very entertaining.’
The Heat still have a chance to win the series ― Game 7 is Monday (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT) and the winner faces Denver in the NBA Finals ― but they will have to win in Boston against a team sensing a historic comeback….” Read more at USA Today