- CREDIT CARD CRUNCH: It’s safe to say President Donald Trump’s entry into the credit card policy fight caused a major splash on Capitol Hill. On Friday, the president supported a 10 percent cap on rates and early this morning, the president endorsed the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA). Republican leaders quickly dismissed the rate cap proposal, although less was said publicly about CCCA. The Washington Reporter will be covering this closely and surveying House and Senate Republicans to see where they stand on CCCA and on the prospects of the legislation getting a vote. More to come.
- SCOTUS SHOWDOWN: The Washington Reporter was on-site at the Supreme Court today, where activists on both sides of the issue of men in girls’ sports made their cases in front of an at-times rowdy crowd. We spoke with Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R., Ala.), Rep. Mike Simpson (R., Idaho), and more — stay tuned for our coverage of the landmark cases.
- CASSIDY ANGLE: This week’s Supreme Court cases are brought to you in part by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.). As chair of the Senate’s HELP Committee, Cassidy launched an investigation into states that violated President Donald Trump’s executive order that ensured fairness for women and girls.
- HALLIGAN NOT HOLDING BACK: Lindsey Halligan, Pam Bondi, and Todd Blanche are accusing a Trump-appointed judge of a “gross abuse of power” in his move to disqualify her as a U.S. Attorney. One source close to Halligan’s side told the Washington Reporter that “Halligan’s motion is powerful pushback against egregiously political maneuvers by Judge Novak, who has no constitutional standing for deciding who is and who isn’t the sitting US Attorney. US Attorney Halligan should be allowed to proceed with her prosecutions unobstructed by judges inserting their politics into our justice system.”
- JUSTICE HAS ARRIVED: Sebastian Gorka, the Senior Director for Counter Terrorism National Security Council, announced that the Trump administration “has designated three Muslim Brotherhood organizations today, including the original and most important Egyptian one.” Gorka noted that “this action should have occurred decades ago. But we needed a Commander-in-Chief who understood the existential threat posed by Salafi Jihadism.” One foreign policy veteran explained the event’s significance to the Washington Reporter, saying that “President Trump’s message to Iran and its proxies has never been clearer: WWFY&WWKY [we will find you and we will kill you].”
- HELP IS ON THE WAY: President Donald Trump’s message to the Iranian people that America has their back was immediately echoed by the first Persian-American congresswoman. “After 47 years of living under an oppressive regime, the Iranian people are taking to the streets in mass, risking their lives for one thing: freedom,” Rep. Stephanie Bice (R., Okla.) said. “I recently joined my colleagues in introducing a resolution that honors their brave efforts and recognizes that the United States Congress stands with the Iranian people. The people of Iran deserve the right to dignity, democracy, and self-determination.”