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.
Send tips to [email protected] or tweet me at @BrentGriffiths.
Here's what we're talking about:
- How Marjorie Taylor Greene went from Nowhereville to fundraising juggernaut
- Florida and Virginia declare state of emergency over gas shortages
- Trump family members reportedly got "inappropriately" close to Secret Service agents
One thing to look out for today: House Republicans are expected to oust Rep. Liz Cheney from her leadership post during a private meeting.
SAUL LOEB/Getty Images
1. THE GREEN IN THE GRASSROOTS: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene complained of being crucified for her past comments endorsing conspiracy theories and violence, which led to her being kicked off of her committees.
But instead of being canceled, the Georgia Republican is awash in cash. Her staying power illustrates the immense benefits of backing former President Trump. It also foreshadows the difficulties Cheney may encounter in her long-term fight for the soul of the party.
Insider explored Taylor Greene's fundraising juggernaut. Here's a what we found and what it means for the GOP's future.
Only House Speaker Nancy Pelosi raised more money in the first three months this year: Until now, no member of the House, save for those running in a special election, has raised $3.2 million during the 1st quarter of a non-election year.
- Key quote: "I couldn't raise $3 million in an entire election cycle," Former Rep. Reid Ribble of Wisconsin told Insider. Ribble is involved in a group of more than 100 Republicans that are threatening to form a third party if the GOP doesn't change its ways, The New York Times reports.
How a freshman raised so much so fast: Taylor Greene helped herself by loaning her campaign just shy of $1 million, the largest portion of which helped her emerge from a crowded primary. Her unabashed support of Trump and growing national profile then led to nearly half a million dollars total around Election Day 2020.
- Check the list: Her campaign largely found its targets by spending six-figure amounts to rent lists of data that contain the personal information of people with a history of supporting like-minded politicians. They also supplemented their efforts with heavy investments on Facebook and Parler.
More on what Taylor Greene could do with her historic windfall.
Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images
2. Violence between Israelis and Palestinians is escalating toward war: The worst fighting in years intensified Tuesday night "as Israeli airstrikes began targeting Hamas offices in Gaza City and militants in Gaza fired rockets at the metropolis of Tel Aviv, the southern city of Ashkelon and Israel's main airport," The NYT reports.
At least 35 Palestinians, including five children, are dead. In Israel, five were killed in strikes on Tel Aviv, Ashkelon and Lod, and at least 100 were wounded. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Hamas would "pay, a very heavy price for their aggression."
3. Florida and Virginia declare state of emergency over gas shortages: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam issued gasoline-related state of emergency notices as the Colonial pipeline's halted operations continued to roil fuel markets. An increasing number of gas stations along the East Coast are running out of fuel amid panic buying, CNN reports.
- The White House is scrambling to respond: "It's not that we have a gasoline shortage. We have a supply crunch," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters, asking people to not hoard gas.
4. Cheney gave one last defiant speech hours before her expected removal: "I will not sit back and watch in silence while others lead our party down a path that abandons the rule of law and joins the former president's crusade to undermine our democracy," Cheney said on the House floor, defending her attacks on Trump for his lies about the 2020 election. Many of her fellow House Republicans left the chamber as she began speaking.
5. Federal judge hands NRA loss in a bankruptcy case: Judge Harlin Hale ruled that the National Rifle Association's bankruptcy filing was made in "bad faith" as the gun-rights group tried to duck a lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The case has displayed uncomfortable details about the NRA's operations, including CEO Wayne LaPierre's spending.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
6. "Hillbilly Elegy" author J.D. Vance launches an exploratory Senate bid: "Short of an act of God, J.D. is going to be a candidate for the Ohio Senate seat in the near future," a Vance associate told Insider. His exploratory committee will exist alongside the Vance-aligned super PAC Protect Ohio Values, which was seeded with a $10 million donation from Peter Thiel. At least 10 Republicans are eyeing the open seat that will be key to their hopes to retake the majority.
7. Contentious Senate hearing shows the difficulty voting-rights bill will face: The Senate Rules Committee tied on a 9-9 vote on advancing Democrats' sweeping election reform legislation, though there are still ways the party can bring the issue to the floor. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell underlined the intense partisan divide on the bill, arguing the changes are simply not needed. Democrats have said there's renewed urgency to pass something, as Republican-led voting restrictions are signed into law around the country.
8. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for Atlanta shooting suspect: Robert Aaron Long, accused of killing eight people, six of them women of Asian descent, will face the death penalty, per the AP. The current charges cover four of the killings in Atlanta, a separate grand jury will need to indict him for the shootings outside of the city.
9. Trump family members reportedly got "inappropriately" close to Secret Service agents: Vanessa and Tiffany Trump became "inappropriately - and perhaps dangerously - close" to Secret Service agents assigned to protect them, Pulitzer-prize winning reporter Carol D. Leonnig writes in her new book, per The Guardian. Vanessa Trump, Donald Trump Jr.'s ex-wife, "started dating one of the agents who had been assigned to her family," Leonnig writes. More about the explosive claims in the book.
- Trump wanted "fat" Secret Service agents gone: "I want these fat guys off my detail," Trump once said, according to an excerpt of Leonnig's book. "How are they going to protect me and my family if they can't run down the street?"
10. Definitely not in the Empire State of mind: Two New York City mayoral candidates thought the median home in Brooklyn sold for less than $100,000 when quizzed during an interview with the NYT editorial board. One of those who whiffed on the answer was Shaun Donovan, a former Housing and Urban Development Secretary. Only former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang nailed the number at $900,000.
Today's trivia question: Astronaut Sally Ride and writer Maya Angelou will be the first women to be featured in an upcoming series of quarters. The history of women depicted on US currency is so scant that only one woman has ever appeared on paper bills. Who is she? Email your guess and a suggested question to me at [email protected].
- Yesterday's answer: The Secret Service helped President Calvin Coolidge locate his cat Tiger after a snowstorm in 1924. A radio plea for help soon located the lost feline.