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☆ The GOP tackles one of the worst midterm election performance in decades by voting to change nothing at the RNC
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AnalysisRonna McDaniel won a fourth term as chair of the Republican National Committee. McDaniel won with 111 votes. On average, the party that doesn't control the White House has picked up between 30 to 25 House seats, as shown by The Washington Post. Going by historical average performance, Democrats should have lost four US Senate seats. The GOP kicked out the sitting chair of the House Democrats' campaign arm, and Republicans also flipped four House seats in the Empire State.

For Republicans, the months following the 2022 midterms have been consumed by a fair amount of introspection — and finger-pointing — about why the results were so underwhelming for the party. The secret ballot vote will take place during the open-press portion of the RNC's three-day winter meeting, which opens Wednesday. McDaniel, who was handpicked by then-President Donald Trump for the role, has faced heat from some Republicans and conservative media figures for the party's lackluster results in November. Meanwhile, an RNC official formally accused a McDaniel ally of engaging in "religious bigotry" aimed at Dhillon’s Sikh faith in discussing the race for party chair. I'm not surprised that folks coalesced behind her or around her as quickly as they did."

☆ Biden and Kamala Harris pat themselves on the back before digging into burgers in a White House video celebrating 2 years in office
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are marking two years since being sworn into office. The White House released a video of the two of them eating a hamburger lunch, served by waiters. The two spend the nearly two-minute video rattling off their accomplishments in office. "I think we're off to a pretty good start," says Biden, as he sits down for lunch. She gives a nod to "the resilience, the determination" of Americans as motivation and then launches into praise for Biden.

☆ Republicans said they chose Trump's DC hotel out of convenience. They've spent almost nothing there since he sold it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

GOP officials, politicians and PACS spent millions at Trump International Hotel in DC. Insider corroborated its findings through examining FEC spending records. The Trump International Hotel, housed in DC's famed Old Post Office building, closed its doors in May last year, and reopened as the Waldorf Astoria a couple of weeks later. Workers remove the signage for the Trump International Hotel on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. Since the start of Trump's presidency, GOP figures spent around $2.5 million at the hotel while he owned it, FEC records show.

☆ FEC dismisses RNC complaint that Google’s spam filters were biased against conservatives
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington CNN —The Federal Election Commission has tossed out claims by the Republican National Committee that Google’s spam filters in Gmail are illegally biased against conservatives, according to an agency letter obtained by CNN. In its letter, the FEC cited Google’s public statements claiming that its reasons for spam filtering include blocking malware, phishing attacks and scams. The study by North Carolina State University researchers had involved an experiment testing the spam filters of Gmail, Microsoft Outlook and Yahoo! Meanwhile, a separate RNC lawsuit against Google over the same Gmail filtering issue is still ongoing. And Google has continued with an FEC-approved pilot project that allows political campaigns to bypass Gmail’s spam filters.

☆ Google Didn’t Show Bias in Filtering Campaign-Ad Pitches, FEC Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( John D. Mckinnon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An academic article said that nearly 70% of emails from Republican candidates were sent to spam on Gmail between 2019 and 2020 versus fewer than 1 in 10 from Democratic candidates. WASHINGTON—The Federal Election Commission has dismissed a complaint from Republicans that Google’s Gmail app aided Democratic candidates by sending GOP fundraising emails to spam at a far higher rate than Democratic solicitations. The Republican National Committee and others contended that the alleged benefit amounted to unreported campaign contributions to Democrats. But in a letter to Google last week, the FEC said it “found no reason to believe” that Google made prohibited in-kind corporate contributions, and that any skewed results from its spam filter algorithms were inadvertent.

☆ Some Republicans Seek Ouster of RNC Chair Once Backed by Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( John Mccormick | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An intense leadership fight inside the Republican National Committee is pitting a three-term incumbent with a losing record against a combative challenger, illustrating the latest divisions within the GOP. Ronna McDaniel , who has led the RNC since shortly after being selected in late 2016 by Donald Trump when he was president-elect, is favored to win a fourth two-year term as chair at a Jan. 25-27 meeting in Southern California, some veteran committee members said.

☆ Kellyanne Conway says 2020 election should've been a 'blowout' for Trump but his campaign squandered a $1.6 billion war chest. Millions went into merchandise and Trump properties.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

To do so, Trump's campaign needs to avoid the "disastrous mistakes" it made in 2020, she wrote. Trump's 2020 campaign quickly spent a majority of the $1.6 billion it raised, ABC News reported. "With roughly $1.6 billion to spend and Joe Biden as the opponent, the 2020 election should have been a blowout," she said. Conway doesn't delve further into the specific strategic or spending mistakes the Trump campaign made. In other areas, the campaign spent millions of dollars on donor gifts and Trump properties.

☆ Biden's classified records bumbling is a gift for Trump, and some high-profile figures say it closes the door on an indictment for the former president
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Biden aides have discovered two batches of classified documents from when he was vice president. "When is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden, perhaps even the White House? Over in the US House Republicans have already launched an investigation. Trump is the only person to have announced a 2024 campaign for the White House, but his campaign has been off to a slow start. Some commentators even predicted that the perception of a double standard around the Biden documents investigation would derail a potential Trump indictment.

☆ One of the most powerful rich families in American politics just got their son in the Senate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ricketts' family owns the Chicago Cubs and has broadly supported conservative causes. Ricketts will replace former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse who left the chamber. Pete Ricketts will be joining the US Senate, an appointment that caps his political comeback and cements his family, which owns the Chicago Cubs, as one of the most powerful forces in American politics. Sen. Deb Fischer, a two-term Republican incumbent and loyal ally of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, is also up for reelection then too. Along with owning the Cubs, the Ricketts family has long been among the biggest funders of Republican campaigns.

☆ Mike Lindell says he's got enough votes to derail RNC chair Ronna McDaniel's leadership bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mike Lindell says he's got the support to derail RNC chair Ronna McDaniel's re-election. Lindell told Insider he's secured the votes to make sure McDaniel won't have an outright win. He told Insider that he has called "a third" of the 168 RNC members since he announced his candidacy in November. "And when you talk to some — sometimes I talk for three to four hours to one person," Lindell told Insider on Monday. "We encourage all RNC members across the country to support new leadership at the RNC Winter Meeting," the committee wrote in its statement.

☆ The feds say they're in for the long haul on Jan. 6 investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Ryan J. Reilly | Ryan J. Reilly Is A Justice Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +16 min

But the federal investigation has been strained, spread thin and strapped for resources as a sometimes less-than-agile federal bureaucracy adapts to the overwhelming scope of the caseload. While the FBI arrested more than 700 defendants in the first year of the investigation, it arrested about 200 in the second. Online sleuths have done their best to bust those myths, too. “That was it.”The Sedition Hunters website features images of people online sleuths say took part in the Jan. 6 attack, including many (in blue) who have been identified. Some charging documents in Jan. 6 cases make the role that online sleuths played clear.

☆ For GOP, Speaker’s Battle Mirrors National Disagreement Over Trump-Style Leadership
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Aaron Zitner | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Kevin McCarthy ’s struggle to unite House Republicans behind his bid for speaker is part of a broader battle within the party over what type of leaders are best suited to help the GOP regain its footing after three cycles of disappointing election results. Republican leaders on the national and state levels are divided over whether former President Donald Trump’s style of politics is responsible for election losses or is the key to future victories. That has created splits over who should helm the Republican National Committee and lead GOP party committees in several battleground states, with candidates identified with the more assertive version of Mr. Trump’s politics emerging in some places as contenders for leadership posts.

☆ Trump Facebook ban could be reversed in the coming weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

For one thing, social media looks different than it did two years ago. Trump now has his own social media company, Truth Social, and his account has been restored on Twitter (where he has yet to tweet). And though there’s no legal right for Trump or anyone else to be on social media, Republicans in Florida and Texas are trying to create laws that would prevent social media companies from removing certain posts. NBC News asked a handful of experts in social media moderation what they thought about the upcoming decision. The answers offered a sense of the shifts in social media and moderation since both Twitter and Facebook banned Trump.

The Republican National Committee plans to closely examine what role former President Donald Trump played in the party's underwhelming 2022 midterm results as part of its audit of the GOP's performance. And how do we learn from that to win elections going forward?" Henry Barbour, an RNC committeeman from Mississippi who was tasked in November with co-authoring the RNC’s post-election review, said in an interview Tuesday. Barbour said his examination seeks to "get into the weeds" on everything from Trump to turnout to ticket-splitting. Dhillon has since announced a challenge to McDaniel for party chair, but Barbour said she is still on the team overseeing the post-election audit.

☆ Democratic Sen. Stabenow of Michigan won't run again in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a member of the Democratic leadership, announced Thursday that she will not run for a fifth term in 2024, opening up a seat in the key battleground state. The announcement is expected to make Michigan's 2024 Senate race one of the most competitive in the country. Only one Michigan Republican has held a seat in the Senate in the past 40 years. If the full DNC approves the plan, as expected, Michigan would be the fifth state to vote in the primary process on Feb. 27. The Republican National Committee has already set their primary schedule and Michigan is not in the first five states.

☆ Feds boost reward to $500K for information on Capitol pipe bomber
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Ryan J. Reilly | Ryan J. Reilly Is A Justice Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Federal investigators have increased the reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who left two pipe bombs near the Capitol the day before the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by fivefold, to $500,000, the FBI said Wednesday. The two pipe bombs found in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington. The individual wore black and light grey Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes with a yellow logo. “We remain grateful to the American people, who have provided invaluable tips that have helped us advance the investigation,” Sundberg added. The unknown individual wore a face mask, glasses, gloves and a grey hooded sweatshirt and Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes.

☆ Trump's lawyers keep getting slammed for filing conspiratorial lawsuits. Here are the 16 sanctioned so far.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Lawyers representing Trump keep getting sanctioned by courts. Sixteen different lawyers have been sanctioned over failed lawsuits brought on the former president's behalf. Many of Trump's lawyers, even if they are not sanctioned, end up needing lawyers of their own to ward off the worst consequences. Still, as many 16 lawyers have been personally sanctioned because of their work for Trump, and Insider has compiled a list. The least successful, however, was a sprawling lawsuit Trump filed against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee, and several other figures linked to Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.

☆ 3 big questions the Supreme Court is likely to ask when determining the fate of student loan forgiveness
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Protesters calling for student debt relief demonstrate outside the Republican National Committee's Washington, D.C. offices on Nov. 18, 2022. The main obstacle for those hoping to challenge student loan forgiveness has been finding a plaintiff who can prove they have been harmed by the policy. Higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz doesn't believe any of the plaintiffs have successfully proven injury by student loan forgiveness. "The U.S. Supreme Court can decide to consider the case on the merits regardless of legal standing," Kantrowitz said. Tribe expects that the justices will visit the so-called major questions doctrine in deciding the fate of Biden's student loan forgiveness plan.

☆ What to know about the two student loan forgiveness cases the Supreme Court will hear legal arguments on in February
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Student loan borrowers protest the GOP outside the Republican National Committee's offices in Washington, D.C,. for denying student loan relief to 40 million borrowers on Nov. 18, 2022Two of the legal challenges brought against President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan have reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Individuals who earned more than $125,000, or families making more than $250,000, were excluded from the relief. The battle has made its way through the courts, and now the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have scheduled their high-profile legal arguments over the plan for the end of February. Here's what you need to know about the two cases that will be heard.

☆ Rep. Adam Kinzinger said in final House floor speech that 'limited government' for GOP now means 'inciting violence against government officials'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger spoke on the House floor for the last time after declining re-election. He also criticized Democrats for boosting election-denying candidates in GOP primaries this year. In his farewell speech, Kinzinger declared that "our democracy is not functioning" and said Republicans have "embraced lies and deceit." "Our leaders today belittle, and in some cases justify attacks on the US Capitol as 'legitimate political discourse,'" Kinzinger added. Kinzinger also criticized Democrats for helping to boost election-denying candidates in Republican primaries this year in order to produce weaker general-election nominees, a controversial tactic that some top Democrats publicly defended.

☆ Meet the megadonors backing the Trump super PAC as some top donors opt out of supporting 2024 candidacy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Yet, the latest disclosure, which shows fundraising for the super PAC from Oct. 20 through Nov. 28, also lists nine other individual contributions totaling over $900,000. Wealthy businessman Timothy Mellon contributed $1.5 million to the super PAC on Oct. 5, according to the records. This small group of megadonors arrived in support of the super PAC just prior to other influential financiers deciding they will not back Trump's 2024 candidacy for president. During Trump's first run for the White House in 2016, Pate financed the anti-Trump super PAC We The People Foundation. Anthony Lomangino, a recycling mogul, donated $100,000 to the super PAC on Nov. 4.

☆ Trump attacks Jewish leaders for 'lack of loyalty' amid fallout from controversial dinner with 'deranged antisemite' Kanye West and white supremacist Nick Fuente
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Donald Trump accused Jewish leaders of a lack of loyalty and claimed he was the best president for Israel. Trump has been widely criticized for having dinner with Nick Fuentes and Ye, who have made antisemitic comments. "How quickly Jewish Leaders forgot that I was the best, by far, President for Israel," Trump wrote. Trump, whose daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner are Jewish, has previously been called out for using antisemitic tropes himself. Since the dinner with Trump, Ye has made even more explicitly antisemitic comments, including saying that he likes Hitler and denying the Holocaust.

☆ Ronna McDaniel locked down votes for RNC chair despite the midterm debacle. Here's how she did it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Jonathan Allen | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

An ally, Richard Porter, an RNC member from Illinois, met with her in Washington to make sure she wanted to run for another two-year term. And the most ardent Trump critics among RNC members say McDaniel, Trump's pick for the post six years ago, is too close to him. Bill Palatucci, an RNC member from New Jersey, said he opposes McDaniel's re-election for that reason. For McDaniel to lose, an opponent would have to win the remaining undecided RNC members and swipe nearly two dozen avowed McDaniel backers. Lori Klein Corbin, an RNC member from Arizona who hasn’t committed to any candidate, said McDaniel hasn’t asked for her vote yet.

We’re going to win Georgia,” Biden said in response to questions regarding his outlook on the Georgia Senate runoff contest as he exited Air Force One Tuesday night. Share this -Link copiedWarnock defeats Walker in Georgia Senate runoff, NBC News projects Sen. Raphael Warnock has won his second statewide runoff election in the last two years, defeating Republican Herschel Walker in the increasingly purple state of Georgia to capture a six-year term in the Senate, NBC News projected. Share this -Link copiedThe Senate runoff election is still too close to call, but Warnock leads The Senate runoff election between Warnock and Walker is still too close to call, but Warnock leads, NBC News' Decision Desk said just before 10 p.m. Share this -Link copiedPolls close soon in critical Georgia Senate runoff Polls are closing at 7 p.m. ET in the Senate runoff election in Georgia, where Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is hoping to fend off a challenge from Republican Herschel Walker.

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