Nancy Pelosi: 14 years ago we marched with John Lewis to gavel in health care. Thanks to relentless advocates and...

Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher will resign early, leaving House majority hanging by a thread

Source: NBC News

WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who announced last month he would not run for re-election, plans to resign from Congress early, according to two sources familiar with his decision.

Gallagher’s departure before the end of his term in January is another blow to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Republicans, who have been struggling to govern and demonstrate stability this Congress.

Neither Gallagher nor his office responded to a request for comment. It wasn’t immediately clear when he plans to step down.

Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., who also is not seeking re-election, is resigning from Congress on Friday, cutting the GOP’s minuscule majority to 218-213. If Gallagher quits soon, that majority would further shrink to 217-213, meaning Republicans could only afford a single defection on any vote if Democrats vote no.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republican-mike-gallagher-resign-early-house-majority-shrinks-rcna144672

Flatline (new Biden ad):

Ronna McDaniel joins NBC News as contributor

Source: The Hill

Ronna McDaniel, the former head of the Republican National Committee (RNC), will join NBC News as a contributor.

McDaniel will appear on “Meet The Press” this Sunday, giving her first interview since resigning as head of the RNC earlier this year.

McDaniel is expected to be featured as part of election coverage on NBC and on the network’s sister cable channel, MSNBC.

“It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team,” Carrie Budoff Brown, who leads political coverage at NBC, wrote in a memo shared with The New York Times.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4549564-ronna-mcdaniel-nbc-news-contributor/

US House passes $1.2 trillion spending bill, sends to Senate

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed a $1.2 trillion bill to keep the government funded through September, leaving the Democratic-majority Senate hours to act before a partial government shutdown deadline at midnight.

The 286-134 vote signals the coming end to a more-than-six-month battle over the scope of Washington's spending for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

The last shutdown occurred during Donald Trump's presidency, from Dec. 22, 2018 until Jan. 25, 2019. The record-long interruption in government services came as the Republican insisted on money to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico and was unable to broker a deal with Democrats.

The current 1,012-page bill provides $886 billion in funding for the Defense Department, including a raise for U.S. troops. It also covers agencies ranging from the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department, along with the Treasury and State departments.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-congress-scrambles-pass-12-trillion-spending-bill-ahead-shutdown-deadline-2024-03-22/

Trump: "I currently have almost five hundred million dollars in cash...!" Paging @NewYorkStateAG !

Lara Trump says she's going to be putting out a workout video with Tulsi Gabbard and a WWE star.

Trump's invite to major donors prioritizes the committee paying his legal bills over the RNC

Source: AP

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s new joint fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee directs donations to his campaign and a political action committee that pays the former president’s legal bills before the RNC gets a cut, according to a fundraising invitation obtained by The Associated Press.

The unorthodox diversion of funds to the Save America PAC makes it more likely that Republican donors could see their money go to Trump’s lawyers, who have received at least $76 million over the last two years to defend him against four felony indictments and multiple civil cases. Some Republicans are already troubled that Trump’s takeover of the RNC could shortchange the cash-strapped party.

Trump has invited high-dollar donors to Palm Beach, Florida, for an April 6 fundraiser that comes as his fundraising is well behind President Joe Biden and national Democrats. The invitation’s fine print says donations to the Trump 47 Committee will first be used to give the maximum amount allowed under federal law to Trump’s campaign. Anything left over from the donation next goes toward a maximum contribution to Save America, and then anything left from there goes to the RNC and then to state political parties.

Adav Noti, the executive director of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington, said that is a break from fundraising norms. Usually, Noti said, candidates prioritize raising cash that can be spent directly on campaign activity. Save America, on the other hand, is structured as a “leadership PAC” and thus barred from spending directly on Trump’s own campaign activities. The group devoted 84% of its spending to Trump’s legal costs as of February.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/trump-campaign-fundraising-rnc-c0e8f1e7b59f70c5237e13a3462e5790

Scoop: Israeli defense minister will bring a long weapons wish list to Washington

Source: Axios

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant will come to Washington next week with a long list of U.S. weapons Israel wants to receive in an expedited manner, two Israeli and U.S. officials said.

Why it matters: Since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, Israeli Defense Forces have become increasingly reliant on U.S.-made weapons for the war in Gaza and would depend on them if the conflict with Hezabollah in Lebanon escalates.

U.S. weapons supply to Israel is increasingly being scrutinized as many inside the Democratic Party and some inside the Biden administration call for putting conditions on Israeli use of U.S.-made weapons.

Driving the news: Gallant is expected to arrive in Washington on Sunday for his first visit to the U.S. since assuming office more than one year ago.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2024/03/21/israel-weapons-wish-list-senate-hamas

All 6 officers from Mississippi "Goon Squad" have been sentenced to prison for torturing 2 Black men

Source: CBS News

Sentencing has concluded for the six white former officers in Mississippi who pleaded guilty to breaking into a home without a warrant and torturing two Black men.

High-ranking Former deputy Brett McAlpin, 53, was the fifth former law enforcement officer sentenced this week by U.S. District Judge Tom Lee after pleading guilty to the attack, which involved beatings, repeated uses of stun guns and assaults with a sex toy before one of the victims was shot in the mouth. The final member of the group, 32-year-old former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield, was given a sentence of about 10 years on Thursday afternoon.

Before his sentencing, McAlpin apologized to victims Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker.

"This was all wrong, very wrong. It's not how people should treat each other and even more so, it's not how law enforcement should treat people," McAlpin said. "I'm really sorry for being a part of something that made law enforcement look so bad."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mississippi-good-squad-rankin-county-brett-mcalpin-joshua-hartfield/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=368244314