©  Illustration / Courtney Jones; Greg Nash; and Adobe Stock

As we inch closer to the 2024 presidential election, both party’s candidates are battling it out to see who can bring in the most money.

President Biden held a glitzy fundraiser Thursday evening in New York City that raised a record $26 million for his reelection campaign and featured guests like former Presidents Obama and Clinton. 

Former President Trump‘s team fired back, suggesting the GOP nominee would beat that record with his own fundraiser at his Florida resort that is projected to raise $33 million.

Trump’s campaign is trying to catch up to Biden’s in terms of campaign fundraising, with Biden ending February with $71 million cash on hand and Trump with $33.5 million in the bank. Those figures do not count money donated by super PACs.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) also outpaced the Republican National Committee (RNC) in February, with the DNC having about twice the amount in the bank as the RNC.

Trump’s campaign has the potential to bring in more money following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of a merger deal involving Truth Social, the former president’s social media platform, that could be worth billions of dollars.

Meanwhile, Biden is trying to appeal to supporters of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Trump’s former rival for the GOP presidential nomination, by spending more than $1 million on a commercial highlighting how the former president has failed to embrace Haley’s supporters. 

“If you voted for Nikki Haley, Donald Trump doesn’t want your vote,” the ad says. “Save America. Join us.”

Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Liz Crisp, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

• Harvard University’s annual applications have fallen for the second year in a row after multiple high-profile controversies.
  
  

• Inflation ticked higher in February as consumer spending soared.
  
  
• Russia vetoed the annual renewal of a panel of experts tasked with monitoring the enforcement of U.N. sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. 

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Cranes have been deployed to Baltimore to remove the wreckage from the catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after a cargo ship slammed into it early Tuesday.

Multiple cranes are working to clear debris in the Patapsco River. The Port of Baltimore, a major shipping hub, has not been able to reopen since the incident.

Eight people were thrown into the water following the collapse, all of whom were construction works on the bridge. Two survived, two bodies have been recovered, and four are stilling missing.

The debris removal will make it easier for recovery crews to locate the missing victims, all presumed dead. The massive, fully loaded cargo ship Dali remains under the rubble.

Some estimates have put repair costs at up to $2 billion, but the true cost is unclear because crews haven’t been able to conduct a complete assessment. (The Hill)

The Department of Transportation has authorized $60 million for reconstruction of the bridge.

The National Transportation Safety Board is actively investigating the crash. 

President Biden plans to go to Baltimore next week to see the wreckage and meet with officials on the ground.

Related:

Baltimore bridge collapse puts spotlight on rising stars Moore, Buttigieg (Read here)

Former President Trump is urging a state appeals court to review a judge’s recent decision to allow Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) to remain on his Georgia election racketeering case.

Judge Scott McAfee earlier this month ruled Willis’s once-romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade created an appearance of a conflict but allowed the district attorney to move ahead with her prosecution once Wade resigned. 

“While the trial court factually found DA Willis’s out-of-court statements were improper and Defendants proved an apparent conflict of interest, the trial court erred as a matter of law by not requiring dismissal and DA Willis’ disqualification,” Trump’s appeal application reads. “This legal error requires the Court’s immediate review.” (The Hill)

American officials are renewing attention to American journalist Evan Gershkovich‘s detention in Russia on the one-year anniversary of his arrest on unfounded espionage charges.

President Biden said in a statement that the federal government “will continue working every day to secure his release.” Congressional leaders released a rare joint statement also acknowledging the anniversary.

“We continue to condemn his baseless arrest, fabricated charges, and unjust imprisonment,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in the statement. “The Kremlin’s attempts to silence Evan and intimidate other Western reporters will not impede the pursuit of truth.”

Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, has spent a year in captivity on espionage charges his newspaper, family and the U.S. government have denounced.

Biden said he told Gershkovich’s parents that he will “never give up hope.”

The Wall Street Journal left an empty space on its front page Friday to condemn Gershkovich’s detention.

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CBS “Face the Nation”: Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), Cindy McCain.

ABC “This Week”: Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), retired Gen. Frank McKenzie.

NBC “Meet the Press”: Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.).

CBS “Sunday Morning”: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Catholic Archbishop Wilton Cardinal Gregory.

FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).

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Friends and family gathered Friday to remember former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman in Connecticut, after his unexpected death earlier this week, with many noting his independent streak and also his efforts to bridge partisan divides.

Lieberman, the first Jewish vice-presidential candidate of a major party, died Wednesday in New York City after a fall. He was 82 years old.

A longtime Democrat, who switch to Independent in 2007, was Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore‘s running mate in his unsuccessful presidential bid in 2000. (The Hill)

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton made a rare public rebuke against former President Trump for his attacks on the judges involved in his legal cases, warning that undermining an independent judiciary risks sliding the country toward tyranny.

“It’s very disconcerting to have someone making comments about a judge. And it’s particularly problematic when those comments are in the form of a threat, especially if they’re direct at one’s family,” Walton told CNN in an interview Thursday.

Trump’s latest target has been Loren Merchan, the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan, the official overseeing his New York criminal trial over alleged hush money paid to an adult film actress ahead of the 2016 election.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) knocked Elon Musk on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Friday after the South Africa-born billionaire repeated a conspiracy theory that Democrats are trying to “import voters” through immigration policies.

“You’re literally an immigrant,” Ocasio-Cortez posted after Musk’s claim, which he had linked to a Daily Caller story claiming the Biden administration is mulling “handing out green cards to illegal immigrants.”

(The Hill)

“Lessons from the Baltimore bridge collapse,” via Sheldon H. Jacobson, data scientist and professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

“It’s choice or consequences for Republicans in 2024,” writes Brad Bannon, Democratic pollster and CEO of Bannon Communications Research.

108 days until the Republican National Convention. 

143 days until the Democratic National Convention.  

220 days until the 2024 general election.

Sunday is Easter! 🐣

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