Good morning! Welcome back to 10 Things in Politics, your weekday look at the biggest stories in DC and beyond. Sign up here to receive this newsletter.
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Here's what we're talking about:
- Anti-Trump Republicans spook GOP with the threat of a spinoff 3rd party
- Ohio is offering $1 million jackpots for vaccines
- Jeb Bush and Elon Musk's brother are quietly funding Liz Cheney
One thing to look out for today: President Joe Biden plans to meet with a group of GOP senators and two Cabinet members to discuss his infrastructure plan at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
1. PARTY ON?: A coalition of anti-Trump Republicans is threatening a move that could upend American politics. An organizer told my colleagues they planned to release an open letter today titled "A Call for American Renewal." They are not calling for an explicit split yet but warn the party of Lincoln may need an alternative if Republicans continue to follow former President Donald Trump.
- Key quote: "The current GOP leadership has bought into this hook, line, and sinker, and only fealty to Trump matters at this point among those leaders," said former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey. She was among the Republicans who endorsed Biden in 2020.
Their effort is also meant as a show of solidarity to Rep. Liz Cheney, who was ousted from her House leadership post on Wednesday after calling out Trump's lies about the 2020 presidential election.
- The letter is expected to be signed by roughly 100 Republicans, including former members of Congress and top party officials: They plan on hosting a town-hall-style meeting next month to further map out their agenda and to recruit prospective primary challengers.
Not surprisingly, current Republican officials warned that splintering the party would have disastrous consequences. Insider spoke with numerous lawmakers about the movement.
- Among those opposed are lawmakers that supported Trump's impeachment: "I don't think it's a good idea. I'm going to stay in the Republican Party," Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said, adding that if the party splintered, "we will not be politically viable."
- Others point out that third parties have historically struggled: "That's much more of the fever dream in the press - that's something that isn't actual political reality," Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said of the movement.
The fight over Trump's role shows no signs of abating: Cheney remained defiant after her ouster via a short voice vote. "I will do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets anywhere near the Oval Office," she told reporters. Meanwhile, her campaign is quietly being boosted by top Republicans including former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and the Trump administration Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
Read more about the identity crisis afoot in the GOP.
2. Biden says Israel "has a right to defend itself" amid worst fighting in years: Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the conflict between Israel and Hamas. But not everyone in the Democratic Party agrees with the president. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York slammed the White House. She wrote on Twitter that statements like Biden's "imply the US will look the other way at human rights violations."
- The latest on the ground: Israel says it assassinated 10 senior militants and continues to strike targets in the Gaza Strip, The New York Times reports. Hamas and its allies are also firing rockets. Israel claims more than 1,000 have been launched from the Gaza Strip. More than 67 Palestinians, including 16 children, have died since the fighting began Monday.
3. Colonial pipeline restarts operations, but gas crunch may continue for a few more days: The announcement follows widespread gas shortages across East Coast that resulted from the pipeline being taken offline by a crippling ransomware attack. More than 10,000 gas stations ran dry as panic buying exacerbated the shortages, The Washington Post reports. Gas prices have now soared past $3 a gallon for the first time since 2014.
4. Speaker Nancy Pelosi still wants an infrastructure bill by July 4: Pelosi said she was "more optimistic" about bipartisan talks following a meeting between both parties' top leaders and Biden. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who was also in the meeting, said Republicans drew a "red line" on hiking corporate taxes to pay for any of the plan. A chasm still divides the parties on the scope of an infrastructure package and how it should be paid for.
Noam Galai/Getty Images
5. Stocks dip for the third day in a row: The Dow fell nearly 700 points as investors feared overheating inflation would stifle the US economic recovery. Key inflation data came in significantly higher than expected, with core inflation rising 0.9% in April. This is the largest monthly increase for the core index since 1982.
- Economists are bracing for the strongest US inflation in decades as the country reopens: Here's what you need to know about inflation, where it stands today, and when you should really start to worry.
6. Republican lawmaker compares some Capitol rioters to tourists: A House hearing on the deadly Capitol riot laid bare the continuing efforts of some Republicans to recast the worst attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812. Describing images of people wandering through the Capitol, Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia said, "If you didn't know the TV footage was a video from January the 6, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit." Normal tourists, of course, don't usually erect gallows, shout about hanging the vice president, or attack police officers.
7. Ohio is offering $1 million jackpots for shots: Five lucky Ohioans will win $1 million in a special lottery of those who have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine. This is just the latest incentive meant to encourage people to get vaccinated.
- Americans as young as 12 could start getting vaccinated today: CDC Director Rochelle Walensky gave the final OK last night to expand the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to Americans ages 12 to 15 years old. Biden called the news "one more giant step" toward ending the pandemic.
8. Judge supports prosecutors' move for a longer sentence for Derek Chauvin: Judge Peter Cahill found that Chauvin's killing of George Floyd was especially cruel and met multiple aggravating factors that would allow the state to seek a longer sentence, the Star Tribune reports. Those factors include that Chauvin "abused a position of trust and authority" and treated Floyd "with particular cruelty." Chauvin is now expected to face up to 30 years in prison.
9. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene reportedly aggressively confronted AOC: The encounter is said to have taken place in the Capitol on Wednesday, with The Post reporting that Taylor Greene said the New Yorker supported "terrorists." In response, Ocasio-Cortez's office called on leadership and the House sergeant at arms to "make Congress a safe, civil place for all Members and staff." This isn't the first time Taylor Greene has confronted one of her Democratic colleagues.
10. Ellen DeGeneres' longtime talk show is ending: DeGeneres has announced plans to end her namesake talk show after its 19th season airs in 2022. She told the Hollywood Reporter that making the show was "not a challenge anymore."
Today's trivia question: What famous author was so opposed to the Mexican-American war that he refused to pay a poll tax and spent a night in jail as a result? Email your guess and a suggested question to me at [email protected].
- Yesterday's answer: Martha Washington is the only woman to appear on paper US currency. She was on the $1 silver certificate that was discontinued in 1957.