Here is how Republicans reacted, generally, to some of the most notable parts of @RepAdamSchiff.
Thread.
@RepAdamSchiff 1. "Whether you like the president or not does not matter"
Effect: Strong. It was clear the entire room was listening, not moving.
@RepAdamSchiff 2. (Re "no quid pro quo") "That is part of the well-known principle that if a defendant said he didn't do it, he couldn't have done it."
Effect: Democrats loved it, laughed. On GOP side, Graham and Sasse smiled and laughed too.
@RepAdamSchiff 3. "Head on a pike". When Schiff quoted CBS story about Trump warning sen's their head wld be on pike if voted against POTUS.
Effect: Offended 1/2 the audience. Saw Sens Lankford, Cotton, Sasse, Ernst + Loffler(!) say outloud variations of 'not true!". Audible groans from many.
@RepAdamSchiff 4. "There are things you can learn only by being in the military ... You can only learn about war by going to war."
Effect: One of his most effective moments w/ GOP. Again very little movement.
@RepAdamSchiff 5. "There are two kinds of jobs - those in a safe seat, those in an unsafe seat."
Effect: Key GOP moderates looked sour or at best unmoved by a safe Calif. Dem saying "I understand the pressure".
*Sen. Susan Collins looked particularly unpleased, I think I saw her eyes narrow.*
@RepAdamSchiff 6. Some say "he's a Democrat in name only. She's a Republican in name only."
Effect: Not great. Sen. Susan Collins (arguably the person he was trying to be relatable to) was stonefaced. Arms crossed. But she clearly heard it.
@RepAdamSchiff 7. "How often do you get the chance to overrule the chief justice of the Supreme Court."
Effect: Success. Broke the ice. Romney laughed. And so did some other Republicans. Nearly every Democrat did too.
@RepAdamSchiff 8. "Russia too has a Constitution. It's not bad. It is just meaningless".
Effect: Audience was getting restless and no longer paying full attention. Murkowski looked down, didn't seem engaged by this.
@RepAdamSchiff 9. "Is it too much fatigue to call witnesses?"
Effect: Folks were listening, but perhaps ironically @SenSanders was taking a break from the chamber at this particular moment.
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BREAKING: The Trump administration plans to put money raised from seizure of Venezuelan oil into bank accounts *outside* the U.S. Treasury -- they told lawmakers today per multiple sources familiar.
Sources said they understood these as similar or decidedly "off-shore" accounts.
Asking the WH for clarification.
.@nickschifrin and I have now confirmed this with people from both parties and working in both chambers of Congress.
UPDATE:
A helpful Republican Senator tells me the idea here is that the US is showing it does not own the proceeds from the oil it is seizing, but still wants to control it. So not going straight to US government (treasury), but to banks (a bank?) to hold at US direction.
Waiting for WH response and still have a lot of questions.
BREAKING: MN Gov. Tim Walz confirms state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in what he said appears to be politcally motivated assassination.
1/
Officials confirm Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot and have not finished surgery. They are optimistic, but both are in difficult situations.
The area where this happened is under a "shelter at home" order, as law enforcement searches for the perpetrator.
Finally have a chance to look through the Trump proposal. Here's what's in it.
Overall: $9.4 billion in approved spending that Trump wants clawed back, or rescinded.
Foreign aid: $8.3 billion
Public broadcasting: $1.1 billion
Foreign aid highlights. Trump would like to cut:
- $203 million from U.S. contribs to UN, World Health Org and other intl orgs.
- $361 million from intl peacekeeping activities
- $900 million from global health, incl. HIV/AIDs treatment
- $1.7 billion from econ. support fund
More Trump proposed rescissions:
- $2.5 billion for development assistance
- $460 million for Europe + Central Asia
- $496 million for disaster assistance
- $125 million for USAID operating expenses
- $64 milllion for Instte. for Peace, African Devel Fndtn, Inter-American Fndtn
A thread on new directives for federal workers and hiring from OPM ... as Musk exits and the Trump administration enters next phase for federal workforce.
I'll write this as I read...
NEW today. The Trump administration posted its final federal hiring plan.
It is a 30 page memo.
Title: Merit Hiring Plan
To: Agency + department heads and acting heads
The Trump hiring plan begins w DEI programs, which it calls "immoral".
Agencies must:
- Cease using statistics on race, sex, ethnicity or national origin, or the broader concept of “underrepresentation” in hiring
- Cease sharing info about agency's composition in those areas