The Hill’s 12:30 Report — Elon Musk’s Twitter deal hits snag

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–> A midday take on what’s happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.* 

*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically.

NEWS THIS MORNING 

Hold up, hold up: 

Elon Musk announced this morning that his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter is on hold while he confirms the number of fake and spam accounts on the platform.  

Musk tweeted a May 2 Reuters article on spam accounts. 

Soo, is the deal falling apart?: Well, Musk then tweeted that he is “Still committed to acquisition.”

➤DEMOCRATS ARE WORRIED ABOUT VIOLENCE IF TRUMP COMES BACK TO TWITTER: 
Via The Hill’s Mike Lillis, “Democrats on Capitol Hill are sounding alarms this week over the possibility that Donald Trump could return to Twitter, warning that providing the former president with such a powerful megaphone could lead to violence on par with last year’s Capitol riot.” Their concerns

IT’S FRIDAY THE 13TH. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.

In the White House  

Biden is trying to scrub the Sharpie-scribbled word off his forehead:

Biden’s options are limited: “Biden has limited control over inflation beyond proposing policies and investments that could take months, if not years, to make an impact. It’s also hard for the president to pass the buck on the matter.” How this could play out 

➤THE FED ISN’T PROMISING A ‘SOFT LANDING’ FOR THE ECONOMY: 
In an interview with Marketplace, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said his agency is hoping to ease inflation without causing a recession. 

In Powell’s words: “What we can control is demand, we can’t really affect supply with our policies. And supply is a big part of the story here. But more than that, there are huge events, geopolitical events going on around the world, that are going to play a very important role in the economy in the next year or so. So the question whether we can execute a soft landing or not, it may actually depend on factors that we don’t control.” More from Powell’s Marketplace interview 

Happening today — the last Psaki bomb:

Today is Jen Psaki’s last day as White House press secretary.  

Watch her last briefing: It begins at 1 p.m. EDT. Livestream

Weirdest question asked on the job?: The Hill’s Judy Kurtz asked Psaki to name a funny moment on the job. “Someone once asked me if I would commit not to euthanize the dog — as in the president’s dog … I don’t know if it was a serious question from that person. It may have been.” https://bit.ly/3LdbeMi

Psaki was asked yesterday whether she’d miss Fox News’s Peter Doocy: “I will,” she said. Even though she has clashed several times with Doocy on camera, she said they have “a very good, professional relationship.” https://bit.ly/3wqPkjd 

Throwback: C-SPAN’s Howard Mortman tweeted a clip of former President Clinton making an appearance at Dee Dee Myers’s last press briefing in 1994. Watch the clip.

In Congress 

Five members of Congress have been subpoenaed: 

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol has subpoenaed five House Republicans to testify. 

Who?: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.).  

Will those members comply?: It’s possible they will try to challenge the subpoenas. 

Why this move is big: “The move is a significant escalation in the committee’s inquiry. Investigative panels have rarely used their subpoena powers on fellow legislators, but there is some precedent from entities like the House Ethics Committee.” How this could play out 

➤ REPUBLICANS ARE TREADING VERY CAREFULLY: 
“The GOP lawmakers have been defiant in their approach to the bipartisan investigation, labeling it an illegitimate partisan witch hunt in which they’ve refused to cooperate. But with the arrival of Thursday’s subpoenas, not even House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) would say he’d reject the entreaty outright.” How Republicans are handling the subpoenas 

Interesting read — ‘The Entirely Predictable Unraveling of Madison Cawthorn’:

Politico’s Michael Kruse writes: “A string of embarrassing incidents has led many to question whether the young congressman from North Carolina was really ready for the job.”

Read the profile on Cawthorn — and how he got to where he is. 

➤ TIDBIT — PELOSI EXTENDS PROXY VOTING: 
The Hill’s Mychael Schnell tweeted a screenshot of an announcement from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that allows for proxy voting until June 28.  

➤ THIS WEEK’S MUST-WATCH MOMENTS ON CAPITOL HILL: 
Here’s a short video compilation. 

🗳 On the campaign trail

They appear to have hit a fork in the road — and Pence chose the other direction: 

“Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday announced that he will campaign for Gov. Brian Kemp in his reelection bid in Georgia, breaking with former President Trump, who has backed former Sen. David Perdue in the closely watched primary.” A brief primer on the race 

🦠 Latest on COVID

➤ BY THE NUMBERS 

Cases to date: 82 million 

Death toll: 996,376 

Current hospitalizations: 15,209 

Shots administered: 580 million 

Fully vaccinated: 66.4 percent of Americans 

CDC data here. 

🐥Notable tweets

Um… but… Eh, nobody tell them:

Politico’s Sarah Ferris tweeted, “The Pro Choice Caucus has just sent out messaging materials to House Dems on Roe draft. One of the recommendations: Don’t use ‘choice.’” Read the messaging materials 

⏱On tap

The House is in. The Senate is out. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C.

• 9:30 a.m. EDT: Biden received the President’s Daily Brief. 
• 10:45 a.m. EDT: Biden met with King Abdullah II of Jordan and Crown Prince Hussein at the White House. 
• 11 a.m. ­– 12:30 p.m. EDT: First and last votes in the House. The House’s agenda 
• 2:30 p.m. EDT: Biden holds a meeting with local community policing officials to discuss the American Rescue Plan. 
• 6:55 p.m. EDT: Biden leaves for Delaware. 
• 3 p.m. EDT Monday: The Senate meets next. The Senate’s agenda 

📺What to watch 

• 11:30 a.m. EDT: Vice President Harris hosted a White House luncheon for leaders of ASEAN countries. Livestream 
• 1 p.m. EDT: White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing. Livestream 
• 1:30 p.m. EDT: Harris hosts a meeting on the climate. Livestream 
• 3 p.m. EDT: President Biden participates in the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit. Livestream 

🥧 In lighter news 

Today is National Apple Pie Day and National Hummus Day!

Pops out from the abyss — did I hear sandwiches?!: 

“Sandwich Champion Fight Club Opens on Capitol Hill Today: Chef Andrew Markert’s pandemic pop-up claims its space for over-the-top sandwiches.” Details and photos from Washingtonian’s Anna Spiegel.

And to get your weekend off to a good start, here’s a dog in an extremely stressful situation.