It’s Wednesday. Shall I introduce our May mascot, Justin Timberlake?! Happy May, everyone! Here are some highlights in today’s edition: -
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) announced she is forcing an ouster vote of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) next week. But don’t expect the vote to be successful.
- Time Magazine published an interview with former President Trump, who gave some interesting goals for his potential second term.
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College campus protests over the war in Gaza hit a boiling point last night with lots of arrests.
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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Marjorie Taylor Greene is big mad: |
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) made a splash announcement this morning that she will force a vote to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) next week.
Flanked by large posters of Johnson hugging House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) and a sign that read, “Mike Johnson: the uniparty speaker,” she made her announcement in front of the Capitol steps with a sea of reporters. She flashed a “MUGA” hat — or “Make Ukraine Great Again” — a jab at Johnson’s support for the Ukraine aid bill that passed last week.
📸 Photo of the announcement, via CNN’s Manu Raju 📹 Watch this morning’s announcement, via C-SPAN Journalist Matt Laslo counted 30+ U.S. Capitol Police officers near the press conference. 📸 Photo Should Johnson be concerned?: Probably not. Democratic leaders have said they would vote to protect Johnson, so he will likely not lose his job. Greene’s motion would need *many more* Republicans to sign on. What to expect on timing: Greene said she would force the vote next week. The House would be required to act on the motion within two legislative days. |
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➤ HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT MARJORIE, MIKE?: |
In a one-on-one interview with host Blake Burman on NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Johnson said he doesn’t think Greene “is proving to be” a serious lawmaker. Keep in mind: The full interview will air on NewsNation at 6 p.m. today. 📺 |
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- ‘Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Attempt to Go Mainstream Is Over’: New York Magazine
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‘RNC chief implores Greene to stand down’: Politico
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➤ TIDBIT — SPOTTED ON CAPITOL HILL TODAY: |
Former racing driver Mario Andretti. 🏎️ Photo from The Bulwark’s Joe Perticone |
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Protests have hit a boiling point:
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Tensions are rising as protests related to the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas have erupted on college campuses across the U.S. over the past few weeks. Police have broken up demonstrations at the University of California, Los Angeles, and at Columbia University in New York City.
At UCLA: “Dueling groups of protesters clashed Wednesday at [UCLA], grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. … After a couple of hours of scuffles between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators at UCLA, police wearing helmets and face shields formed lines and slowly separated the groups. That appeared to quell the violence.” (AP)
At Columbia: Hundreds of New York Police Department officers, many of whom had riot gear, entered a Columbia University building on Tuesday evening to break up a pro-Palestine protest. Student protesters had barricaded themselves into a building, and police entered through a second floor window. (The Hill)
📸 Photos of the damage at Hamilton Hall
Arrests: The New York Times noted that there have been more than 1,000 arrests nationwide. 🗒️Breakdown of arrests, by university
Tidbit: Journalist Brian Stelter pointed out that “CNN reporter [Julia Vargas Jones] is live ON CAMPUS as the NYPD gathers outside Columbia University. ‘I could only get in because I’m a student,’ she notes, because she’s also a grad student at [Columbia Journalism].” 📹 Watch the clip
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➤ READ MORE ON THE CAMPUS PROTESTS:
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‘As protests escalated on U.S. campuses, officials and students at Brown University set a rare example: They made a deal.’: The New York Times
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‘How pro-Palestinian college protests have grown, visualized’: The Washington Post
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‘Columbia President Holds On—for Now—as Student Protests Spiral’: The Wall Street Journal
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‘How some faculty members are defending student protesters, in actions and in words’: NPR
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‘Campus goes crazy, Democrats hardest hit’: Op-ed in The Hill
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What’s my biggest weakness? I’m too nice: |
Time’s Eric Cortellessa interviewed former President Trump about his goals for a second term in office if he wins in November. “Donald Trump thinks he’s identified a crucial mistake of his first term,” Cortellessa writes. “He was too nice.” Here are a few major takeaways from the interviews with Trump: -
Immigration: “To carry out a deportation operation designed to remove more than 11 million people from the country, Trump told me, he would be willing to build migrant detention camps and deploy the U.S. military, both at the border and inland.”
- Abortion: “He would let red states monitor women’s pregnancies and prosecute those who violate abortion bans.”
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He would take a direct role in prosecutions: “He would be willing to fire a U.S. Attorney who doesn’t carry out his order to prosecute someone, breaking with a tradition of independent law enforcement that dates from America’s founding.”
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6 defendants: “He is weighing pardons for every one of his supporters accused of attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, more than 800 of whom have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury.”
- Foreign policy: “He might not come to the aid of an attacked ally in Europe or Asia if he felt that country wasn’t paying enough for its own defense.”
Read the cover story: ‘How Far Trump Would Go’
📸 Check out the Time Magazine cover 🔎 Read the full transcripts of Trump’s interview |
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➤ EYES ON ‘STAR WITNESS’ MICHAEL COHEN:
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A one-time personal attorney and fixer to Trump, Michael Cohen is expected to be a star witness for the district attorney’s office’s case against the former president on 34 counts of falsifying business records connected to hush money deals.
Prosecutors hope to convince a jury of 12 New Yorkers who will determine Trump’s fate that Cohen, now working against his former boss, is credible.
Read more from The Hill’s Ella Lee and Zach Schonfeld. |
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🍫 Celebrate: Today is National Chocolate Parfait Day!
⛪ A 300-year-old settlement resurfaced in the Philippines: A severe drought has exposed structures from a nearly 300-year-old settlement, according to CNN. You can see part of a church and tombstones in the photos. 📸 Photos
🔊 The rest is still unwritten: Singer Natasha Bedingfield posted a video of her sitting on a plane while her 2004 hit “Unwritten” happens to be playing on the speakers. 📹 Watch Bedingfield’s TikTok video |
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The House and Senate are in. President Biden is in Washington, D.C., and Vice President Harris is in Jacksonville, Fla. (all times Eastern)
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1:30 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream 2:45 p.m.: Harris speaks about reproductive rights at an event in Jacksonville.
3 p.m.: A Senate cloture vote related to the Federal Aviation Administration. 📆Today’s agenda
4:30 p.m.: First and last House votes. 📆 Today’s agenda 5:30 p.m.: Biden participates in a campaign reception at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. -
6:20 p.m.: Harris returns to Washington.
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