It’s Monday, April 1. 🐣 It’s April Fool’s Day, so keep your antennas up today while on the internet. Keep reading for some of the most famous pranks over the years. Here’s what’s in this edition: -
The Bidens are hosting the annual White House Easter Egg Roll today! It’s been a rainy morning, but it has not deterred the kids.
- Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he will bring up the Ukraine aid package after recess, but with some changes.
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The New York Times has an interesting read on how former President Trump has been “infusing Christianity into his movement.”
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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. |
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Let the Easter eggs roll!: |
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The South Lawn of the White House has been transformed into an Easter celebration for the 144th annual Easter Egg Roll.
The scale: More than 40,000 people will attend throughout the day and there will be 64,000 eggs. (CNN) |
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➤ SIGHTS AND SOUNDS FROM THE SOUTH LAWN: |
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I’ll take the over on this bet: |
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday that he will bring the Ukraine aid package up for a vote when the House returns from recess. Yes, but: With “some important innovations,” he said on “Sunday Night in America With Trey Gowdy.” So that’s what the kids are calling “changes” these days.
What kind of ‘innovations?’: Johnson floated the idea of making the Ukraine aid a loan. Or an authorization to use Russia’s frozen assets to help Ukrainians. Keep in mind: This has been a monthslong process with a lot of pushback from Johnson’s GOP conference. This process could come with some big headaches for him. |
Who is to blame for the GOP exodus?: |
Republicans are pointing fingers as to who is to blame for the shrinking House majority, bringing deep internal divisions out on display.
If you talk to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.): She blames former Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), who resigned March 22, and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), who is leaving April 19.
^ But Greene left out a third resignation: Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who resigned in December after being ousted from leadership. The dynamic among Republicans: “Conservative agitators are bashing moderates as apostates, and moderates are bashing the hardliners as obstructionists — and the minuscule majority that’s made it all but impossible for Republican leaders to unite the warring camps for the sake of passing the party’s policy priorities.” Read more: ‘Republican blame game heats up as their majority thins’ |
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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he has texted with Greene — who filed a motion to oust him — and plans to chat with her next week to discuss her concerns. |
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Twitter gets the same kind of attention as an order of loud, sizzling fajitas in a Mexican restaurant: |
Former President Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, has given him an outlet to constantly communicate with his supporters and air his political grievances, but The Hill’s Amie Parnes and Brett Samuels report that there are questions about whether he gets less traction than his days on Twitter. Basically, Truth Social is the modest taco salad.
Keep in mind: Trump has said he would not return to X, formerly known as Twitter. But Trump has 87 million followers on X — and fewer than 7 million followers on Truth Social.
A data point: The Journal of Information Technology & Politics recently published a study showing that Trump’s reach on Twitter in 2016 was much more effective than his reach on Truth Social now.
Read more: ‘Trump’s Truth Social posts give him a megaphone and Dems an opening’ |
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The New York Times’s Michael C. Bender writes how former President Trump is “infusing Christianity into his movement.”
The gist: “Ending many of his rallies with a churchlike ritual and casting his prosecutions as persecution, the former president is demanding — and receiving — new levels of devotion from Republicans.”
Well, when you put it this way: “He has been married three times, has been repeatedly accused of sexual assault, has been convicted of business fraud and has never showed much interest in church services. Last week, days before Easter, he posted on his social media platform an infomercial-style video hawking a $60 Bible that comes with copies of some of the nation’s founding documents and the lyrics to Lee Greenwood’s song ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’” (The New York Times)
^ Oh, yeah. If you missed the news that Trump is selling Bibles: Here you go! Let’s just say NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” had fun with this tidbit. |
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➤ THE FIVE SENATE SEATS MOST LIKELY TO FLIP:
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➤ MORE READS FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL:
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‘How Republicans texted and emailed their way into a money problem’: The Washington Post
‘Trump’s VP search is starting to get serious’: Politico |
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🍞 Celebrate: Today is National Sourdough Bread Day!
😜 The Taco Liberty Bell! CBS News pulled together some of the best April Fool’s pranks, including when Taco Bell claimed it had purchased the Liberty Bell and was renaming it to the “Taco Liberty Bell.” 🛒 Hey, any version of Trader Joe’s without a big line is a win for me: Trader Joe’s has opened a grab-and-go version of the grocery store near Union Square in New York City.
☔️ Expect a wet week: A big storm has brought lots of snow, rain and storms to much of the U.S. this week. (CNN) |
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The House and Senate are out. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C. (all times Eastern) |
- Today: Biden and first lady Jill Biden host the 2024 White House Easter Egg Roll. Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff 🐰 Livestream
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Noon: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream
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4:05 p.m.: The Washington Nationals’ home opener! ⚾️ Details
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