| | | | The pre-Trump Republican Party is dead | | On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that a deal had been reached with Democrats to not only keep the government open past the Thursday night deadline, but also actually ensure it was funded for the next two(!) years.
The agreement would do a number of things both sides have long wanted: $160 billion for military spending, $128 billion for domestic spending, a longer lead time on raising the debt ceiling.
It also does something that, even a few years ago, would have been considered a nonstarter with Republicans: Adds almost $300 billion to the deficit.
That $300 billion comes on top of the $1 trillion Republicans added to the deficit when they approved the tax cut legislation at the end of 2017.
Those twin moves -- both of which were strongly backed by the White House -- confirm that the Republican Party as it existed before Donald Trump's hostile takeover has ceased to exist.
The pre-Trump, post George W. Bush Republican Party was obsessively focused on reining in federal spending and finding ways to shrink the government's debt.
Paul Ryan rose to prominence within the party -- and nationally -- with his much-ballyhooed budget proposal that, in his words, made hard choices to address the issue of our time: Our debt.
"Our debt is a threat to this country," Ryan said in a 2013 speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference. "We have to tackle this problem before it tackles us."
Enter Trump. The self-proclaimed "king of debt." The man who said "I love debt." And someone totally uninterested in putting debt reduction anywhere near the top of his priorities list.
From his tax cut plan to his $25 billion ask for border wall funding, Trump has shown time and again that deficit spending is 100% A-OK with him.
And, amazingly, the GOP Congress has simply gone along with him. The same people who spent the Obama years insisting that the Democratic president was spending the country into certain oblivion have suddenly made peace with a Republican president who seems to care even less about the debt.
The Point: RIP, Republican Party 2008-2016. It's dead. As a doornail. This is Trump's party from top to bottom now. And that means the "d" words -- "debt" and "deficit" -- just don't matter that much anymore.
-- Chris | | "I'm not looking for a Soviet-style hardware display. That's not who we are, it's kind of cheesy and I think it shows weakness, quite frankly. But to have a parade where we can display our finest and we can all say thank you and honor them, would be fine."
-South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham to CNN on President Trump's idea to hold a military parade | | | CNN's Kevin Liptak, Betsy Klein and Kaitlan Collins reported Wednesday: "White House staff secretary Rob Porter, a top aide to President Donald Trump, has resigned, following allegations of abuse from his two ex-wives. Porter denied the allegations in a statement issued in the wake of his resignation." Read more in their story here.
A reminder about the growing list of people who have left the White House after getting fired or resigning, including: ...and more! BTW: Check out the list CNN wrote last year on where some ousted Trump staffers are now. | | ICYMI: THE POINT IS ON INSTAGRAM | | CNN's MJ Lee and Kevin Liptak talked to the ex-wives of White House staff secretary Rob Porter, who resigned today amid allegations that he abused the women
A great piece by the LA Times' Jazmine Ulloa on what makes Devin Nunes' district tick
Forbes has a list of the cryptocurrency kings. And, yes, the Winklevi are on there.
Logan Paul is the worst | | | Remember "Who Let the Dogs Out"? Well Baha Men has a new song out, their first single since 2011. They performed it on "Live with Kelly and Ryan" on Wednesday. | | PELOSI'S RECORD-SETTING FLOOR SPEECH ON DACA | | CNN's Daniella Diaz and Deirdre Walsh report:
"House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi took to the House floor and spoke for about eight hours to oppose the spending deal to lift spending caps and avert a government shutdown -- because the plan does not address immigration issues.
"The deal, which was proposed by Senate leaders on Wednesday, will require Democratic support to pass the House, so the House Democratic leader's comments make the plan's future unclear. A source close to the California Democrat told CNN she thought of the idea overnight to speak for hours on the House floor. The source said Pelosi, 77, was wearing 4-inch-heels while delivering the speech and was only sipping water.
"During the speech, Pelosi shared statements from DACA recipients about themselves and their successes in the United States. The House Historian's office told CNN that Pelosi's speech was the longest on the House floor, according to their records. Pelosi started speaking shortly after 10 a.m. ET, and wrapped the speech a little after 6:10 p.m. ET."
Read more in CNN's full story here. | | CNN's Eric Bradner writes: Former Attorney General Eric Holder left the door wide open Wednesday to a future run for office -- including the presidency in 2020. "We'll see," he said when asked directly if he might run for president at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast. His comment came as he rolled out a list of targets for his National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a Barack Obama-backed group that plans to spend $30 million this year in hopes of flipping GOP-held governor's offices and state legislative chambers.
(Read more in Eric's full story here).
In other #2020 news, Oprah Winfrey -- who sparked buzz about a potential presidency with her rousing Cecil B. DeMille Award acceptance speech during the Golden Globes -- ruled out a presidential run. During a live chat with Lin-Manuel Miranda at her "Super Soul Conversations" event in New York, she said again that she is not running for office. | | From CNN's Elise Labott: "Vice President Mike Pence kicked off his swing through Asia Wednesday by vowing to intensify pressure on North Korea over its growing nuclear threat and show solidarity with US allies in the region. Pence viewed Japanese troops as they demonstrated a simulation of Japanese surface-to-air missile defense systems and took part in a briefing by Japan's defense minister before meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
"'The United States is with you in this challenge,' Pence told Abe as they began their talks. 'And we will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Japan, the people of South Korea, and our allies and partners across the region until we achieve the global objective of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.'"
In other Pence news, USA Today reported that Pence asked the US Olympic Committee to set up a conversation between him and US Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, who has criticized the vice president for his stance on gay rights. CNN reached out to Pence's office for comment. Rippon's publicist Lynn Plage offered no further comment on the matter. | | | Unicode Consortium, which oversees emojis on various platforms (including iPhones) announced the lobster emoji is among the 150 emojis that will be added in the next round. No one was more excited than Maine Sen. Angus King, who tweeted his enthusiasm (screenshot above). Last year, over 5,000 people signed a Change.org petition called "Let's Make the Lobster Emoji Happen." It also inspired a #NoLobsterEmoji hashtag movement on social media. Congrats, Maine. Read more in CNN's story here. | |  | | H/T Brenna | | | Since it doesn't take more than eight hours, please spend a minute or two and tell your friends to subscribe to The Point! | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | | | | |
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