Post Politics Now: Trump to rally with GOP gubernatorial hopeful in Nebraska accused of sexual assault – The Washington Post
Today, former president Donald Trump is headed to Nebraska, where he is slated to appear at a rally with Republican gubernatorial hopeful Charles Herbster, a longtime political ally who has been accused of sexually assaulting several women. Trump’s appearance with Herbster underscores the risky play Trump is making by trying to be a kingmaker in GOP primaries. Herbster is only one of several Trump-endorsed candidates in close primaries on the ballot next month.
In Washington, President Biden plans a phone call with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Migration, an issue Republicans are trying to elevate in the November midterms, is expected to be high on the agenda. Biden also plans to meet with inspectors general of federal agencies.
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Marianna Sotomayor: Congress’s return to Washington after a two-week recess was brief but eventful — The House was in session for roughly 48 hours before heading into another week-long recess. But in that time, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) survived scrutiny from his Republican colleagues after audio leaked of him and other GOP leaders criticizing their far-right colleagues days after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.Republicans appeared more concerned about pressing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas at two hearings this week than about discussing what McCarthy said over a year ago.House Democrats and all but 10 Republicans voted to send to the president Thursday an update of a 1942 military bill that will ease military lend-lease provisions between the United States and Ukraine. But Democrats were caught off guard when opposition from liberals on a separate surveillance bill led them to pull it from consideration this week.In the Senate, members spent the week confirming a slate of nominees for the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, senators on the Judiciary Committee quizzed several of Biden’s judicial picks, including J. Michelle Childs, who had been under consideration for the Supreme Court this year.Together, Senate and House Democrats unveiled their intention to tackle an outstanding issue affecting all Americans: high gasoline prices. Leaders previewed their goal of penalizing big oil and gas corporations for price gouging through legislation that would allow federal regulators to impose fines and other penalties.
Noted: In Va., Gov. Youngkin’s tax package, other initiatives remain stalled
In November, Republican Glenn Youngkin’s upset of Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s governor’s race — just a year after President Biden carried the state over former president Donald Trump — set off alarm bells among Democrats nationally.
With Youngkin now having hit the 100-day mark of his administration, The Post’s Laura Vozzella takes stock of how things are going, writing that Youngkin has been serving up a mix of sunny determination and partisan fare. Laura writes:
A political newcomer who took office in January, Youngkin used the 100-day milestone on Thursday to issue a list of achievements and goals, many of the latter stalled in a politically divided state Capitol.Youngkin’s tax-cut package — to eliminate the grocery tax, double the standard deduction and grant a gas-tax holiday — remains in the limbo of a budget standoff between the Republican-led House of Delegates and Democratic-controlled Senate.
Laura notes that Youngkin’s team also kicked off his 100th day with the early morning release of a nearly four-minute video, much of it a mash-up of footage from Fox News and Fox Business, the outlets where he has most often appeared. Among other things, it touched on his campaign promise to give parents more control over their children’s education.
You can read Laura’s full piece here.
