 |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| Two pieces of breaking news Tuesday: A White House official and an aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending an event together. (At least one of the cases seems to be linked to a group of Texas Democrats who came to Washington last week amid a battle in the state legislature over voting rights.) |
| And the chairman of former President Donald Trump's inaugural committee, Thomas Barrack, was charged in a conspiracy to illegally advance the interests of the United Arab Emirates and leveraging his political connections to Trump to push that effort. |
| Speaking of getting charged... |
| • | A Florida man became the first felon sentenced Monday for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, receiving eight months in prison and being ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution for a portion of the damage to the building. | | • | Proud Boys leader Henry "Enrique" Tarrio pleaded guilty Monday to two charges, including one related to the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner, in an incident weeks before the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. | |
| It's Mabinty, with the day's top news. |
A Wednesday Infrastructure vote could fail |
| Key Senate Republicans negotiating bipartisan infrastructure legislation are warning that a vote scheduled Wednesday to begin debating the measure could fail because talks are continuing and there is no final text to the bill. |
| "We can't support cloture for something we haven't accomplished yet," said Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, the lead negotiator for Republicans. "We haven't come to agreement on key issues." The 50 Democrats need at least 10 Republicans to support the bill to clear a parliamentary hurdle for debate. |
| Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who has participated in negotiations, said he would vote against beginning debate Wednesday on the bill and he hoped Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer would move the vote to Monday. |
| The most contentious aspects of negotiations involve how to pay for the legislation at a time of outsized spending during the COVID-19 pandemic. One option was to boost IRS enforcement of tax collections, but that hasn't been resolved. |
| The Senate vote will be a key test of whether any of President Joe Biden's ambitious and expensive economic proposals will become law. The bipartisan package offers hundreds of billions of dollars for roads, bridges, railways and broadband. |
Real quick: Stories you need to read |
| |
We finally know who the 5 Republicans on the Jan. 6 select committee are |
| Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy selected five Republicans to join the House panel that will investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. |
| McCarthy's picks, announced Monday, include ranking member Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, plus Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis, North Dakota Rep. Kelly Armstrong and Texas Rep. Troy Nehls. |
| Jordan told Newsmax late Monday: "We know what this is. This is impeachment Round 3," adding that he joined the committee to "focus on the truth and to focus on the facts." |
| Last month, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said of the committee: "It will find the truth, which clearly the Republicans fear." |
| Interesting fact: All five congressmen voted against impeaching President Donald Trump in January. |
| Happy Taco Tuesday 🌮! —Mabinty |
| |
| |
| |
| |
