Friday News & Notes
SEPTEMBER 24, 2021 -- THE JUDICIARY ACT OF 1789 ESTABLISHES THE SUPREME COURT
•Germany holds national elections this coming Sunday as Chancellor Angela Merkel steps down as the country’s leader after 16 years.
•President Biden leads a meeting of “The Quad” today at the White House, along with leaders of Japan, India and Australia. Their big issue for discussion is over China’s military dominance in the Asia-Pacific region.
•The CDC last night gave green light to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine booster and added health care workers and others whose job puts them at risk, as eligible, along with seniors 65 and older, and those 18 and older with a high risk of illness.
Pelosi, Schumer Announce ‘Framework’ on Social Infrastructure – House Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, have announced a “framework” that is to bring moderate and progressive Democrats together on the $3.5-trillion “social infrastructure” budget reconciliation package, Politico reports. But progressives want to delay the September 27 vote deadline on the $1.2-trillion infrastructure bill that Pelosi has attached to the bigger reconciliation bill, while moderates want to stick with next Monday’s deadline on what they see as a sure thing and rare win for President Biden.
Note: The Pelosi-Schumer announcement has left most pundits scratching their heads over whether this framework means anything substantial at all. Regardless, there are going to a whole lot of people spending the first weekend of fall crunching numbers in their offices and others twisting arms. Politico reports Friday that Pelosi plans to meet her obligation to hold a vote on infrastructure Monday, so with this framework she can also call for a vote on the $3.5 trillion spending bill framework without forcing a final vote on the bigger package.
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House 1/6 Committee Subpoenas Four Trump Aides – The House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection on the Capitol Thursday subpoenaed three Trump White House officials and advisor Steve Bannon, the Associated Press reports. The committee has “also requested a trove of records from the White House,” which the AP says President Biden has authority to decide whether to release.
Subpoenas went to Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, deputy chief of staff for communications, Dan Scavino, Defense Department official Kashyap Patel, and Bannon. All are believed to have close contact with Trump January 5 and leading up to the pro-Trump riots January 6. Democrats cite Bannon’s January 5 prediction, “All hell is going to break loose tomorrow.”
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Dog Bites Man in Arizona — The six-month, $6-million audit of election results in the 2020 presidential election conducted by Cyber Ninjas in Maricopa County, Arizona, found that Joe Biden had 99 more votes than had been originally tabulated and Donald Trump had 261 fewer votes, according to a draft report of the review that had been obtained by The New York Times. Yes, Biden won Arizona.
Maricopa County, Arizona’s Twitter account put it this wayt: “The #azaudit draft report from Cyber Ninjas confirms the county’s canvass of the 2020 General Election was accurate and the candidates certified as the winners did, in fact, win.” … In a second tweet, it added; “Unfortunately, the report is also littered with errors & faulty conclusions about how Maricopa County audited the 2020 General Election.”
Note: It should come as no surprise that Texas, which Trump won, will conduct an audit of the results in four countries (Collin, Dallas, Harris and Tarrant,” The NYT reports, in response to Trump’s request to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for a “Forensic Audit of the 2020 Election.” As is sometimes said in the Lone Star State, “He don’t know nothing from nothing.” And the pronoun could apply to either of the individuals.
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Bush Backs Cheney – No, it’s not a long-lost headline from 2000. Former Republican President George W. Bush will hold a fundraiser October 18 in Dallas for the re-election campaign of his vice president’s daughter, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-WY, the Associated Press reports. While this might seem uncharacteristic of the 43rd president, who has kept a low political profile, the AP quotes Bush’s spokesman Freddy Ford as saysing, Bush “has historically helped a few key candidates and friends each cycle, so this one shouldn’t come as any surprise.”
Cheney has ticked off former Republican President Donald J. Trump by voting for his second impeachment last January and joining the House select committee investigation into the January 6 Capitol attacks.
Trump is leading the “primarying” of Republican congress members “disloyal” to him in next year’s midterm election and backs Wyoming attorney Harriet Hageman’s challenge next year.
Underscoring how much the GOP has changed in just the last decade, Trump called Bush 43 a “RINO,” in a statement, and accused Cheney of being “warmongering,” and being “so bad for Wyoming.”
Note: Which is to say Cheney is “so bad” for Wyoming’s blindly diehard Trump supporters.
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Primary Challenge Unlikely Here – Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-IA, announced early Friday on Twitter he will run for an eighth term, The Hill reports. Grassley managed to stay in Donald Trump’s good graces while not closely aligning with the former president. Grassley, already the oldest U.S. senator, turned 88 last Friday, which means should he win re-election – a good bet as he beat a Democratic challenger five years ago by 25 points – he will be 94 at the end of his next term as senator.
--Edited by Todd Lassa and Gary S. Vasilash