Chief Congressional Correspondent, CNN. Anchor, “Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju.” 8a/11aET Sunday. Die-hard Chicago sports fan. Wisconsin Badger for life
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Latest from Capitol Hill, campaign trail, White House and beyond
After some Republicans balked at going through House metal detectors, Pelosi announces stiff fines.
“The fine for the first offense will be $5,000 and $10,000 for the second offense. The fines will be deducted directly from Members’ salaries by the Chief Administrative Officer”
Asked Pelosi if she thinks Trump should be tested after his interactions with Doug Collins and Matt Gaetz.
Pelosi: “Tested for what?”
me: coronavirus
Pelosi: “Oh, I thought he should be tested for a long time now.”
And she walked off
Sen. Warren on the fact that the draft opinion was leaked.
“Really? You think the whole issue is about a leak?” she told me. “This is about five extremist justices … at least two of them swore up and down that they cared about the rule of law and Roe v Wade is settled law.”
“Can you provide a definition for the word, woman?” Blackburn asks. Jackson: “Can I provide a definition? No, I can’t.”
Blackburn: “You can’t?”
Jackson: “Not in this context - I’m not a biologist. … In my work as a judge what I do is I address disputes.”
Sen. Martha McSally, a Republican facing a difficult election race, lashed out when I asked if she would consider new evidence as part of the Senate trial. “You’re a liberal hack - I’m not talking to you. You’re a liberal hack.” She then walked into a hearing room.
Trump, who tweeted yesterday he canceled his NJ trip to ensure "LAW & ORDER is enforced,” just arrived at his Virginia golf club. It's the 271st time he has been at one of his golf clubs and 363rd time at one of his properties in his presidency, per CNN tally
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois, called Trump a “draft-dodging, wannabe tinpot dictator” who is perverting “the honor of our military” by threatening to use against Americans
The House will vote tonight on a rule that will fine members who blow through the new metal detectors off the floor. $5000 for the first offense. $10,000 second offense. Deducted from pay. It will be approved
WALLACE: You said our children are taught in school to hate our country. Where do you see that?
TRUMP: I just look at – I look at school. I watch, I read, look at the stuff.
As Trump attacks Fauci and calls him a “disaster,” he was just awarded the National Academy of Medicine's first-ever Presidential Citation for Exemplary Leadership
In a matter of 48 hours, we’ve learned the president of the United States deceived the American public about his health in the 2016 campaign and about engaging in a scheme to pay off a porn star to silence her during the campaign
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger: “Earlier today Senators Loeffler and Perdue called for my resignation. Let me start by saying that is not going to happen. The voters of Georgia hired me, and the voters will be the one to fire me.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert were the lone two members to vote against a bill that would reauthorize the National Marrow Donor Program, which matches bone marrow donors and cord blood units with patients who have leukemia and other diseases
The bill passed 415-2
NEWS - Pelosi calls for the resignation of the US Capitol Police chief and says the House Sergeant at Arms has told her he is submitting his resignation
Schumer rejects McConnell proposal to affirm to spare the filibuster as part of power-sharing deal. “Leader McConnell’s proposal is unacceptable - and it won’t be accepted.”
Mitt Romney: “I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump. And the fact that he would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn't want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is is really appalling."
NEWS: Several Republicans in the House have skipped Friday's votes and enlisted their colleagues to vote on their behalf, signing letters saying they couldn't attend "due to the ongoing public health emergency."
But those members are scheduled to be at CPAC
George W. Bush: “I just talked to the President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden. I extended my warm congratulations and thanked him for the patriotic message he delivered last night.”
NEWS: Mike Pence: "President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election. The presidency belongs to the American people and the American people alone." Says "there's nothing more unAmerican" to have "any one person ... choose the American president."
Susan Collins: “If this leaked draft opinion is the final decision and this reporting is accurate, it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office.”
Here is a clip from that night outside the Capitol, showing Rep. Boebert running up the stairs as though she was trying to make the vote, and me telling her that it had closed already.
*running up steps*
Me: They closed it.
Boebert: They closed it?
*keeps running*
Sen. Mitt Romney, leaving a classified briefing on China, told us he believes the US made the right decision to wait and shoot down the suspected spy balloon — breaking with most Republicans.
Peter Meijer, one of 10 House Rs who voted to impeach Trump, to
@jaketapper
: "It's just staggering how many folks continue to either try to paper over what happened, try to move on, and just say, 'It's been a couple of weeks, let's forget about it.' I'm just at a loss for words."
Pelosi just reiterated this now, and said: "No" when asked if Omar would be removed from committees as GOP is demanding. "A newcomer member of Congress has apologized for her remarks. It took them what, 13 years to notice Steve King?"
I just asked
@SpeakerPelosi
in the hallway about
@VP
’s recent comments about Ilhan Omar and of this is going to continue to be an issue for Democrats. Her response:
After weeks of Republicans demanding that Schiff open up the doors and allow the public to see the impeachment proceedings, Trump says this morning: “They shouldn’t be having public hearings.”
Asked about the president’s latest attacks on her, Pelosi says on ABC: “I don’t pay that much attention to the president’s tweets against me. As I’ve said, he’s a poor leader. He’s always trying to avoid responsibility and assign blame.”
Mitt Romney, who had expressed some reservations of the Jan. 6 commission bill, just told me he would be a YES if the bill came forward for a vote.
“I would support the bill.”
As he was walking on an elevator yesterday, GOP Sen. Marco Rubio told me that a vote on a bill to codify gay marriage was a "stupid waste of time."
But when he said that, there was another senator on the elevator who heard him: Tammy Baldwin, who is gay.
Biden to
@jaketapper
: “It was all about making sure the stock market didn’t come down, that his wealthy friends didn’t lose any money ... He waved a white flag. He walked away. He didn’t do a damn thing. Think about it. Think about what he did not do. It’s almost criminal.”
Vindman attorney responds: “That a member of the Senate – at a moment when the Senate is undertaking its most solemn responsibility – would choose to take to Twitter to spread slander about a member of the military is a testament to cowardice.”
Adam Schiff is hailing Alexander Vindman as an American patriot.
How patriotic is it to badmouth and ridicule our great nation in front of Russia, America’s greatest enemy?
The Senate Dems who voted against an effort to advance a federal minimum wage hike to $15 per hour: Manchin, King, Sinema, Carper, Coons, Tester, Hassan, Shaheen.
“In any other job in America, if a coworker made a video killing another coworker, that person would be fired,” Reps. Dingell, Joe Neguse, Lieu, Cartwright say in a statement, calling on McCarthy to take action.
Josh Hawley in this Congress has voted against all the Biden nominees and against the waiver for Lloyd Austin to serve as defense secretary. His lone two 'yes' votes so far have been to throw out the electoral results of Arizona and Pennsylvania.
GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy: “Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person. I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty.”
NEW: The American Bar Association calls on Senate Judiciary Committee to halt Kavanaugh proceedings until after the FBI completes a probe of the sexual assault allegations, effectively siding with Democrats.
Sen. Bernie Sanders grew angry when asked about his campaign plans. During a gaggle with reporters in the Capitol, I asked Sanders about his timeframe for making a decision, and he lashed out: "I'm dealing with a fucking global crisis. You know, we're dealing with."
Pelosi on vacationing during shutdown. “The fact is we all stood ready and told our members we would give them 24 hours’ notice to be where they need to be. The president may not know this but Hawaii is part of the United States. ... Maybe he does not know that,” she said on NBC
NEW: Pelosi sends letter to colleagues: “This week, the House will introduce and vote on a War Powers Resolution to limit the President’s military actions regarding Iran.”
Mitt Romney: “And you know, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar, I don't know them, but I'm reminded of that old line for the Butch Cassidy the Sundance Kid movie where one character says, 'Morons, I've got morons on my team,'” he said on
@CNNSotu
to
@DanaBashCNN
Sen. John Cornyn, the senior GOP senator from Texas, is critical of his state’s lawsuit challenging the election results in several battleground states, telling me: "I frankly struggle to understand the legal theory of it.”
Vindman attorney responds: “My client has seen war, and has sacrificed greatly for our country. He has said nothing publicly but for statements made pursuant to a subpoena. He deserves better than to be mocked, taunted, and bullied by the Commander-in-Chief,” per
@kaitlancollins
Trump says in mocking voice “lieutenant colonel” Vindman, a member of his own National Security Council who raised concerns about his call with Zelensky. “He’s another beauty.”
Romney tells
@jaketapper
that GOP has “strayed“ from its core values. “I don’t see us returning to that for a long time. As I look at the 2024 contenders, most of them are trying to be as much like Donald Trump as they can be.” Says he represents “very small slice” of GOP today
A witness told me they saw GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert throw a mask back at a floor staffer when she was offered one while trying to walk onto the floor maskless. Members can now be fined in the House when maskless
Schumer office said he has secured a provision in the agreement that will prohibit “businesses controlled by the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, and heads of Executive Departments from receiving loans or investments from Treasury programs.”
Cruz’s office has not responded to photos on social media showing him traveling to Cancun. They haven’t confirmed or denied anything yet, not responding since last night. Comes as residents in Texas are left without running water or power amid the winter storm.
Romney on Trump verdict:
“He just is not suited to be President of the United States, and to be the person who we hold up to our children and the world as the leader of the free world,” he told me
424-8, House easily passes bill to revoke Russia’s normal trade status, sending bill to Senate. The lone NO votes:
Boebert
Massie
Gaetz
Biggs
Greene
Bishop
Roy
Grothman
DC Metro Police officer Michael Fanone, who was brutally attacked by the mob on Jan. 6, said on
@CNNTonight
: “It’s been very difficult seeing elected officials and other individuals kind of whitewash the events of that day or downplay what happened.”
On a Democratic call, reacting to the President abruptly breaking off stimulus talks, Speaker Pelosi questioned whether Trump taking a steroid was impacting his thinking, according to two people on the call.
Speaker Pelosi, responding to Trump’s attacks on Baltimore, says: “So the president - this comes as no surprise - really doesn't know what he's talking about. But maybe you could ask his son-in-law, who's a slumlord there, if he wants to talk about rodent infestations."
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley just told me this: “If I were president of the United States and I had a lawyer that said I could pardon myself, I think I would hire a new lawyer.”
Pelosi wouldn’t answer my question about why the $900 billion deal is more acceptable to her than the $1.8 trillion offer Mnuchin made to her this fall.
Graham says of Biden: “If you don’t stand up against the impeachment of Donald Trump after he leaves office, you’re an incredibly weak figure in American history. President Trump is trying to heal the nation.” (Unclear how Trump is trying to do that). It’s “insane at every level”
Jerry Nadler on Berman firing as US attorney for the SDNY: “The House Judiciary Committee will immediately open an investigation into this incident, as part of our broader investigation into Barr’s unacceptable politicization of the Department of Justice.”
“This is a woman that’s deeply unwell. And clearly needs help. And her kind of fixation has lasted for several years now. At this point I think the depth has raised concerns for other members as well,” AOC on MTG
CDC Director Robert Redfield: “I do think the fall and the winter of 2020 and 2021 are going to be the probably one of the most difficult times that we experienced in American public health.”
50-49, Senate Democrats overcome filibuster for Lisa Cook to serve on the Federal Reserve Board. She is expected to be confirmed tonight and would be the first Black woman to be a member of the board.
Sen. John Fetterman not mincing words about Rand Paul who is objecting to moving quickly to final vote on $95 billion aid package expected to pass Senate by mid-week.
“We're only here because of just one prick,” Fetterman told me. “And he decides that the rest of all of our…
Wow - After Gohmert spoke, Nadler said: “I’m deeply concerned that any member of the House would spew Russian propaganda on the floor of the House.” Gohmert starts yelling
Schumer: “The bewildering incongruity between falling oil prices and rising gas prices smacks of price gouging … The Senate is going to get answers, and that's why we will be calling on the CEOs of major oil companies to come testify before the Congress.”
American Legion to WH: “Until such time as we can celebrate victory in the War on Terrorism and bring our military home, we think the parade money would be better spent fully funding the Department of Veteran Affairs and giving our troops and their families the best care“
Pelosi, on the final day of the session this year, walking into the chamber. She says in response to McCarthy saying $1.7 trillion omnibus is “one of the most shameful acts” he’s seen in the House. “I can’t help but wonder, had he forgotten January 6th?”
Just asked Nancy Pelosi her reaction to President Trump saying coronavirus is under control.
“ I don’t think the president knows what he’s talking about - once again.”
People who have been convicted or pleaded guilty since Trump became POTUS
-- Trump's personal attorney
-- Trump's former campaign chairman
-- Trump's former WH national security adviser
-- Trump's former campaign adviser
-- Trump's former deputy campaign chairman
I just asked Sen. Lisa Murkowski, key GOP swing vote, if there should be a full FBI investigation into allegations from Kavanaugh’s past. “It would sure clear up all the questions, wouldn’t it?” she said
Alabama's senior GOP senator, Richard Shelby, unloading on Roy Moore in intvw w
@jaketapper
: "When it came to the 14-year-old story, that was too much for me...I couldn't vote for Roy Moore...The state of Alabama deserves better...I think the Republican Party can do better."