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The few Republicans who haven’t demonstrated unconditional loyalty to disgraced former President Donald Trump are facing increasing hostility from the rest of the party—even as voter-suppression laws fueled by Trump’s Big Lie threaten to backfire on GOP voter turnout.
- On Monday morning, Trump announced his intention to perpetuate the Big Lie by appropriating the term to refer to the 2020 presidential election itself. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) quickly tweeted her disapproval: “The 2020 presidential election was not stolen. Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system.” Who among us doesn’t ease into the week by subtweeting 147 of our coworkers?
- The MAGA wing of the GOP caucus had already renewed its efforts to remove Cheney from House leadership over her recent comments that anyone challenging the 2020 election results should be disqualified from a 2024 presidential run, and that the insurrection commission should be, get this, focused on the insurrection. (And, of course, her traitorous fist bump with President Joe Biden.) Last week, House Gutlessness Leader Kevin McCarthy dodged the question of whether she was still a “good fit” for Republican leadership: “That’s a question for the conference.”
- Cheney’s not the only target. On Saturday, the more than 2,100 Republican delegates at the Utah GOP convention heartily booed Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) as he took the stage, calling him a “traitor” and a “communist” (lmao). A vote to censure Comrade Mitt for his two votes to impeach Trump failed later that day, but it was quite close. In keeping with tradition, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is Concerned: “We are not a party that is led by just one person,” she said on Sunday.
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The party would beg to differ.
- A new CNN poll released Friday found that six months after the election, a whopping 70 percent of Republican voters believed Trump’s false claims that Biden had not legitimately won the presidency. Local GOP officials across the country have been facing censure and threats for accepting the election results. The media hasn’t helped: Of the major Sunday political shows, only CNN’s State of the Union hasn’t been repeatedly booking election-deniers without a word about their role in fomenting an insurrection.
- Republicans have been feverishly pushing to capitalize on Trump’s Big Lie even in instances where it might bite them in the ass. A number of Florida Republicans had raised concerns that the sweeping voter-suppression bill Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is expected to sign could hurt voter turnout among seniors and members of the military, both GOP-heavy constituencies that rely on mail-in voting. Their proposed, legally-impossible solution? Simply exempt those groups from the new provisions to make sure they can vote easily, while suppressing the opposition. You know, for election integrity.
While Mitt Romney might still be blinkered about the direction of the Republican Party (“Aren’t you embarrassed?” he asked the booing crowd of Donald Trump supporters in the year 2021), Democrats need to be clear-eyed about the democracy-threatening emergency at hand. Check out where your senators stand on S.1, then give ‘em a call: votesaveamerica.com/forthepeople.
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Pet owners rejoice! Brand new What A Dog bandanas have dropped in the Crooked Store, in celebration of What A Day host Akilah’s new dog, Fauci. (ICYMI, please enjoy the meeting of the Faucis.) Head to crooked.com/store now to pick yours up today. →
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Public health experts are now saying that herd immunity is probably out of reach in the U.S., at least for the foreseeable future, which does not mean we’re all doomed. Because there are now more contagious variants circulating, experts have calculated the herd immunity threshold to be at least 80 percent. Polls show that 30 percent of Americans are still hesitant to get vaccinated, so we’ve got a bit of a numbers problem here. (Thank you, GOP & Co.) But a return to normalcy is still attainable, if the U.S. can vaccinate enough people to prevent more dangerous variants from emerging and eventually relegate coronavirus to something more like a seasonal flu. Dr. Anthony Fauci emphasized that a lack of herd immunity doesn’t mean an out-of-control virus: “I’m saying: Forget that for a second. You vaccinate enough people, the infections are going to go down.”
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- President Biden announced he will raise the refugee cap to 62,500, as he initially pledged back in February, but said he doesn’t expect to hit that number of admissions this fiscal year.
- The Biden administration will reunite four families who were separated at the border under the Trump administration in the U.S. this week, as the beginning of a much broader effort.
- Three people died after a human-smuggling boat broke apart on a reef off the coast of San Diego on Sunday. Five of the 29 survivors were hospitalized, with one person in critical condition, and authorities have taken the suspected smuggler into custody.
- Republicans won both runoff spots in the special election for a competitive Texas House seat, closing off an opportunity for Democrats to reinforce their majority.
- The EU has announced a proposal that could reopen Europe to fully vaccinated tourists by the end of June. More like Whîte Bøy Summér.
- Facebook’s Oversight Board has reached a decision on whether Facebook can uphold its suspension of Donald Trump, and will announce it on Wednesday morning.
- News outlets have walked back reports that the FBI warned Rudy Giuliani he was the target of a Russian influence operation in 2019. The FBI prepared a briefing but never delivered it, because of concerns that it could complicate the criminal investigation.
- House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has joined the ranks of Republicans touting the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a program in the American Rescue Plan, which of course passed with zero (0) Republican votes.
- Bill and Melinda Gates announced they will get a divorce after 27 years of marriage, raising questions about the future of the Gates Foundation and custody of Clippy.
- Top New York City restaurant Eleven Madison Park will reopen with a fully vegan menu, presumably under secret orders from the Biden administration Meat Police.
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The first federal trial against drug companies over the opioid epidemic began in West Virginia on Monday, in a community that’s considered ground zero of the crisis. Cabell County and its seat, Huntington, will argue that the “Big Three” drug distributors—AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson—ignored a mountain of evidence that opioids flooding into the county were being diverted for illegal use. From 2006 to 2014, there were more than 81 million prescription pain pills distributed in Cabell County, enough for 94 pills per person per year. Attorneys are seeking $500 million to address the toll and bolster recovery efforts. The trial is set to continue for more than three months, and its verdict could lay the groundwork for settlements in more than 3,000 pending lawsuits across the country.
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The FDA will authorize the use of the Pfizer vaccine in kids 12 to 15 years old by early next week.
Los Angeles County reported no new coronavirus deaths on Sunday and Monday—a likely undercount, but an incredibly hopeful sign.
The EPA has proposed a rule to slash the use of hydrofluorocarbons, a class of powerful greenhouse gases that are commonly used in refrigeration and air conditioning.
The Colorado Sun has partnered with a national nonprofit to buy 24 community newspapers, in a bid to help preserve local journalism.
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