The News Not Noise Letter: Gridlocked in DC, drenched in NYC. Who's ready for the weekend?
What do you call it when 5 inches fall on NYC, troops swarm another border, and a Senator dies on the cusp of a government shutdown? Answer: Friday.
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From a sudden Senate opening, to the pending shutdown, a deluge in New York City and an arrest 30 years after Tupac’s killing, this has been a busy news day.
Here are the headlines:
Dianne Feinstein Dead at 90: California Senator Dianne Feinstein died Thursday night in her Washington D.C. home at the age of 90. Sen. Feinstein was the longest-serving female senator in history, and her death creates a host of challenges for Democrats.
Newsom to Pick a Successor: Now it falls on California Gov. Gavin Newsom to choose an interim successor to fill Feinstein’s seat until after the 2024 election. Newsom previously vowed to appoint a Black woman to fill this seat. He’s said he’s looking to appoint a “caretaker” to serve the remainder of Feinstein’s term, rather than appoint anyone who may seek the seat long-term. Three California representatives are running for Feinstein’s seat in the 2024 election: Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and Barbara Lee.
Committees: Feinstein was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Intelligence Committee, the Appropriations Committee, and the Rules & Administration Committee. Replacing Feinstein on these committees may prove difficult, especially since Republicans didn’t let Dems temporarily remove Feinstein from the Judiciary Committee earlier this year when she was away from Washington due to health troubles. If they continue to block her replacement, expect delays in judicial confirmations and more.
US Senate Action: Before Feinstein’s death, Dems had a narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate, now an even narrower 50-49 until Newsom fills her seat. You can read about her accomplishments and glass ceiling-breaking moves here.
No Retirement: Senator Feinstein gave her lifetime to public service and we want to honor that history. It’s also true that, in recent years, she was greatly diminished by failing health and resisted pressure to step down to allow a younger official to serve this term. It’s part of a pattern of older elected officials choosing to stay in office until death, rather than gracefully relinquishing their roles. In the case of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, for example, the choice led to a crisis appointment and a change in the Court that ultimately undermined some of her own accomplishments. We honor both women, and ask: what do you think we can do to encourage people to voluntarily exit the public stage?
Government Shutdown Imminent: Greetings from the cusp of a government shutdown (hello, again). We’re here because the House can’t pass legislation to fund the government – even for just another six weeks. A vote failed again, today. If (when) the government shuts down, everything from air travel to food support for 7 million people, military pay and more will be affected. Unlike past shutdowns, this time there isn’t an obvious way to negotiate a resolution. That’s because the holdouts are far-right Republicans who oppose Speaker McCarthy’s leadership and demand impossible concessions, i.e., drastic spending cuts, halting support for the Ukraine war, etc. And some just want to hold the government hostage (as endorsed by former President Trump).
This is all a hot mess and it goes back to the election of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). You’ll recall he won the Speakership by a razor-thin margin after fifteen votes, and a small group of far-right Republicans still refused to back him. Some of those same players are holding up the funding bills now, and threatening to force him out of the speakership. (They haven’t pushed him out already because no one wants the job. Or they don’t have the votes. But that could soon change.)
Leading the charge: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who is perhaps best known for mocking mask mandates by wearing a gas mask on the floor of the House and for being a thorn in McCarthy’s side. The noise is intense. Gaetz just accused McCarthy of paying influencers to attack him online and taking money from Sam Bankman-Fried. (McCarthy denied this.)
Back to what matters: The shutdown will end in one of two ways. Either GOP hardliners reach a deal and change their vote to fund the government, or House Republicans have to make a lot of concessions and cut a deal with House Democrats to reopen without the hardliners’ support. Both options carry significant political risks. (Either way the GOP is likely to “own” the shutdown with voters.) TL;DR this could drag on until regular people feel so much pain that they pressure their members to act. In other words we have to get to a place where compromise is less painful than continuing as is. This could all be complicated by a move to push McCarthy out of his speakership. Meantime, the White House social media team continues to unleash sick burns.
Torrential Flooding in NYC: Extremely heavy rain Thursday night and Friday flooded much of New York City, stranding cars, turning streets and subway stations into rivers, and drenching residents. Flights were delayed at airports across the region. Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency, and many people remain stranded in their cars or homes. If you’re in NY, we hope you are safe and dry! You can see some of the insane footage here.
Arrest in Tupac Case: Thirty years after the drive-by shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur, a suspect has finally been indicted for murder. The Las Vegas police say this man did not pull the trigger, but he rode in the vehicle and was the “leader and shot caller” who ordered Shakur’s killing.
Biden on the Offensive: President Biden warned that former President Trump is an “extremist” and a threat to democracy. Speaking in the battleground state of Arizona, he warned that “democracies don't have to die at the end of a rifle. They can die when people are silent, when they fail to stand up, or condemn threats to democracy.” It was his sharpest critique of the former President to date.
Impeachment Inquiry Underwhelms: The Republicans’ opening salvo at their impeachment inquiry into President Biden – was a total dud. Their own lead witnesses testified that the panel doesn’t have the goods. One GOP aide called the hearing “an unmitigated disaster.” Some headlines that say it all: “Star GOP Witness Immediately Pours Cold Water on Biden Impeachment” and “Republicans’ Key ‘Biden Corruption’ Witness Torches Their Entire Claims.”
Trump in Court Next Week: Trump faces a New York fraud trial starting Monday that could lose him Trump Tower and many other Trump Organization properties.
Third Party Spoiler: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the vaccine conspiracy-theorist who trades on public mistrust of institutions, will announce that he’s running for president as an independent. That’s according to a report in Mediaite. If this comes to pass, he could draw votes from both the Democrat and Republican nominees.
UAW Strike Expands Again: After stalled negotiations, the UAW is expanding its strike once more. 7,000 workers walked out of a Chicago Ford plant and a Michigan GM plant.
Chaos on the Kosovo Border: And a quick note about a developing story in South East Europe. The White House says it’s “monitoring” a large Serbian military build up around the border with Kosovo. The unexpected military deployment is triggering international alarm bells recalling the nations’ bloody 1998-99 war. In reaction, NATO announced that it’s increasing its peacekeeping presence on the ground in Kosovo. Quick lesson: Kosovo is a democratic republic that endured ethnic cleansing in a long war with Serbian forces. Its president says Serbia is acting as a “proxy” for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the White House says a weekend attack was “well-coordinated and planned.” If Russia is driving this aggression, it would serve as a way to distract NATO and Western countries from their efforts to back the war in Ukraine.
