It’s Wednesday. It’s a chilly day in Washington, D.C. Check out this photo of the sunrise over the Washington Monument this morning. Here’s what’s happening in the political world today: 

• The Biden administration announced an additional $1.2 billion in student loan forgiveness. 

• The ruling in former President Trump’s  civil fraud case leaves his real estate empire in limbo. Oh, and the New York attorney general threatened to seize his assets if he doesn’t pay his nearly $355 million fine. 

• Trump told Fox News who is on his shortlist to be his running mate, assuming he’s the GOP presidential nominee in November. Keep reading for that list.

I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@digital-release.thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.  

During a town hall event in Greenville, S.C., former President Trump confirmed the names that he is considering for his vice presidential running mate.  

Who’s on the list?:  

• Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) 
• Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy 
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) 
• Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) 
• South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) 
• Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard , who served in Congress as a Democrat but has more conservative views now 

When will Trump make his decision?: He did not say.  

Politico’s Jessica Piper and Zach Montellaro report that Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has attracted thousands of President Biden’s 2020 campaign donors in her bid against Trump.

The deets : “More than 5,200 donors to Biden’s 2020 campaign have backed Haley financially, including roughly 1,600 who gave more than $500,000 in January alone, according to a POLITICO analysis of Haley’s most recent fundraising report, filed Tuesday night with the Federal Election Commission.” (Politico) 

The Biden administration announced this morning that roughly 153,000 student loan borrowers will be forgiven, totaling $1.2 billion. 
 

Details : “Under the [Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan], those who borrowed less than $12,000 can have their debt forgiven after 10 years of payments. The Education Department will reach out next week directly to borrowers who are eligible for relief but are not currently enrolled in the SAVE plan.” 

The Washington Post broke it down by age, debt amount and how the loan was used. The Post’s graphics

“The growing band of House Republicans racing for the exits at the end of this Congress are voicing a common and unsettling theme driving their decision: the toxicity of life on Capitol Hill. That group features a number of young, powerful lawmakers — a handful of them with formidable committee gavels — who say they’re at the end of their ropes.” 
 

Read more: ‘High-profile House retirements reflect the toxicity on Capitol Hill’ (The Hill)

Republicans’ chances of winning back control of the Senate are on the rise after a series of evolving circumstances in their favor. 

For example: Republicans recruited Maryland’s popular former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) to run for Senate. Maryland is a deep-blue state, but Republicans now have a shot at winning that seat. 

Another example: In Montana, Republicans convinced one of the Republican candidates to exit the primary, so there would be a clear, uncontested path for businessman Tim Sheehy. Republicans are now uniting to unseat Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester.

The numbers: Democrats are defending 23 seats in 2024, including some red states with Democratic incumbents.  

^ Breakdown of those races, via The Hill’s Julia Mueller 

“For more than a century, the Trump family has developed real estate in New York. But the far-reaching ruling in former President Trump’s civil fraud case, if upheld, could leave the namesake family business without a Trump at its helm for the first time.” 

The confusion: The Trump team is expected to appeal the decision, so in the meantime, Trump’s New York real estate empire is left in limbo. 

From Will Thomas, a business law professor at the University of Michigan: “It’s just unclear — who’s there to run this thing?” Thomas said the Trump Organization could be “hamstrung” by the decision because Trump’s top deputies have been cast out. 

What could happen: “Trump could still appoint someone to lead his company in compliance with Engoron’s order. While barred from serving as a director, he could — as an owner of the Trump Organization and other entities — select directors to serve in his place. Those directors could in turn choose officers to run the business day-to-day. … The question then becomes whom Trump would select, according to Thomas.”  

The Hill’s Ella Thomas wrote a helpful explainer on the Trump empire and how this could play out. 

1. “Was Trump’s conduct a victimless crime?”
2. “Was the case political?”
3. “Will the case have ramifications for businesses in New York?”
4. “How rare was the ruling?”
5. “Will the verdict have a negative impact on Trump’s presidential campaign?” 

Context for each from The Hill’s Niall Stanage 

New York Attorney General Letitia James told ABC News that she will seize former President Trump’s assets if he can’t pay his $354.8 million civil fraud fine.  

From James : “If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets.” (ABC News) 

Trump owes more than $80,000 *PER DAY* in interest until he pays the fine, according to The Hill’s analysis.

Fox News’s Laura Ingraham asked the former president how he would pay the fine issues by Engoron.

His response : “It is a form of Navalny,” Trump said, referring to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died last week in an Arctic prison. “It is a form of communism or fascism. The [judge in the case] is a nutjob.”  

• ‘The Daunting Task Facing Navalny’s Widow’: The Wall Street Journal 
• ‘Russia Could Put a Nuclear Weapon Into Orbit This Year, U.S. Warns Allies’: The New York Times 
• ‘Shock and confusion grip IVF clinics, couples in Alabama after ruling on embryos’: The Washington Post 
• ‘Trump and allies plotting militarized mass deportations, detention camps’: The Washington Post 
• ‘Tax records reveal the lucrative world of covid misinformation’: The Washington Post 
• ‘Jeff Zucker Doesn’t Watch Much CNN’: “Two years after his ouster from the network, the mogul explains why his investment firm RedBird IMI is snapping up media properties at a frantic clip.” The Hollywood Reporter 

🍯 Celebrate: Today is National Sticky Bun Day! 

💪 Who run the world? GIRLS: TIME released its list of the 2024 women of the year. TIME’s list / TIME’s explainer on how it chose the women 

Who made the list?: 12 women, including actress Greta Gerwig, actor Taraji P. Henson and tennis player Coco Gauff 

📱 It’s not just ‘iPad kids’ anymore: @patriottakes posted a video of former President Trump pulling out an iPad while having dinner. 📹 Watch the video 

💴 Your tax refund may be late this year: It could be delayed due to the Earned Income Tax Credit. (FOX 5/KUSI ) / Tool to check your refund status 

🤢 Omg, peanut butter-scented deodorant?: Personal care brand Native collaborated with the Girl Scouts of the USA for a line of cookie-scented products. 🍪 🧴 Photo of some of the products ‘in the wild’ 

The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in California, and Vice President Harris is in Washington, D.C.  (all times Eastern)

• 1 p.m.: Biden receives his daily briefing. 

• 3:45 p.m.: Biden delivers remarks in Culver City, Calif. 💻 Livestream 

• Today-Saturday: The Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md. Five things to watch 

• This evening: Biden participates in campaign receptions in San Francisco.

Let’s leave things on an entertaining note: Watch these puppies try sparkling water for the first time. 

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