POLITICO Nightly: The weirdest, most inane veepstakes yet

 

BY CHARLIE MAHTESIAN Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during the World Values Network's Presidential candidate series at the Glasshouse on July 25, 2023 in New York City. | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images ARE YOU THE ONE — It’s only March, and the two major party nominations were just settled last night, but already juicy veepstakes stories are marking the rounds. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent candidate, announced today he will announce his vice presidential candidate March 26 in Oakland, Calif. Earlier this week it was revealed that he approached at least a half-dozen people to assess their interest in becoming his running mate. And NBC News reported today that former President Donald Trump recently made the rounds during Mar-a-Lago dinner hour, asking club members their thoughts on potential veep prospects and their stances on abortion . None of the accounts cast these presidential candidates in a favorable light, suggesting neither has learned much about the deep apprehensions voters have about the advanced ages of President Joe Biden and Trump himself. Far from suggesting a seriousness of purpose, their approaches to the selection of a running mate have signaled the opposite. Kennedy’s shortlist gives every indication it’s an exercise designed to milk the power of celebrity or notoriety. There is Aaron Rodgers, a Hall of Fame-caliber NFL quarterback best-known for his anti-vaccine views, conspiracy theories and his body of work in State Farm insurance commercials. And Jesse Ventura, a former one-term Minnesota governor whose name has been floated regularly in the nearly two decades since then as a prospective third-party candidate for president. While Ventura at least has state and local governance experience, a Kennedy-Ventura ticket wouldn’t exactly offer a strong generational contrast to the major party nominees — voters would have the choice of an 81-year-old Democrat, a 77-year-old Republican or a third-party ticket featuring two slightly younger septuagenarians. Other individuals Kennedy has reportedly been in contact with include former senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.), former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and Tony Robbins, the popular motivational speaker and life coach. Both Rodgers and Robbins have been featured in photos on Kennedy’s social media accounts, racking up the likes and views — in the case of Rodgers, a photo of the pair on a hiking trail has registered nearly 3 million views. Trump’s search for a running mate has taken a different tack, though it’s equally hollow. It dates back to late 2022, when he first announced his intention to run again. As he launched his campaign for a second non-consecutive term, he also launched an “Official Trump 2024 Vice President Poll” to ask people who should be his running mate. Since then, his fundraising appeals have consistently teased his veepstakes and he’s regularly leveraged his potential pick for attention. Last fall, the Trump campaign said all seven of his primary rivals — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C) and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum — were crossed off his potential vp list . Yet some of them have now resurfaced as supposed short-listers. A few months later, at a January town hall in Iowa, Trump said that he already knew his choice for running mate, but declined to provide details. “I can’t tell you that really,” the former president said when asked about a potential vice president. “I mean, I know who it’s going to be.” Nearly every prominent Republican office-holder who hasn’t crossed him has made an appearance as a vice presidential prospect at one time or another in news accounts. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has said her name is on Trump’s list . When Trump was in Texas last month, he said Gov. Greg Abbott was “absolutely” on his short list. Vice presidential picks have always revealed a great deal about the presidential candidates who select them — so have the selection processes. They tell you about the traits a candidate values, and provide an insight into how they think. So far, what we’ve learned is that what these candidates value most is command of the attention economy. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at cmahtesian@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @PoliticoCharlie .   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW .     WHAT'D I MISS? — TikTok’s biggest threat passes the House: The House passed a bill today that would force TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell the app or face a ban on U.S. app stores — posing the most serious threat to the popular video-sharing platform to date. The measure earned wide bipartisan support — passing 352-65 — with backing from House Speaker Mike Johnson and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Its “no” votes spanned a wide ideological range, including both conservative lawmakers like Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who raised Amendment concerns, and progressives like Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) who say Congress should pass privacy legislation covering all social media sites, not just TikTok. — Judge tosses six charges in Trump Georgia indictment: The state judge presiding over Donald Trump’s criminal case in Georgia has thrown out six of the indictment’s 41 charges , ruling that the state had failed to make specific enough allegations to support them. The ruling affects three of the 13 felony counts Trump faces in the case, though not the central charge of a racketeering conspiracy aimed at overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state. Several of the dismissed counts do not involve Trump but instead apply to some of his most prominent co-defendants, including Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and Mark Meadows. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee emphasized that prosecutors may refile the charges with greater detail or appeal his ruling. — Hunter Biden declines public hearing for House GOP impeachment inquiry: Hunter Biden will not attend a March 20 public hearing with the House Oversight Committee , skipping what would have been a high-profile hearing for House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry. Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, notified Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) today that the president’s son will not attend the hearing in a letter. NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 HOW TO TALK ABOUT ABORTION — Kellyanne Conway, former counselor to former President Donald Trump, has advice for Republicans struggling to talk about abortion on the campaign trail : flip the script and accuse Democrats of extremism while advocating for policies she views as a compromise, such as a ban on the procedure after 15 weeks with exemptions for rape, incest and threats to the life of the mother. “I think that to show concession and consensus is really the way to go,” she said. TRUMP’S NEW HIRE — Former Rep. Mark Walker, the North Carolina Republican who was preparing to face a Donald Trump-backed candidate in a House runoff election, just took a new job instead. He’s going to work for Trump. Walker, Trump announced in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, will immediately begin working on the campaign’s outreach to faith groups and minority communities. The arrangement was finalized around 5 p.m. Tuesday, when Trump called and offered Walker the job, Walker told POLITICO in an interview. The pair have shared a complicated relationship in recent years, with Trump endorsing against Walker in primary races for Senate and House after Walker served three terms in Congress, but lost his seat due to redistricting. “Third-party discussions” between Walker’s and Trump’s teams began just over a week ago, according to Walker. AROUND THE WORLD A protester burns tires during a demonstration in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Tuesday. | Clarens Siffroy/AFP via Getty Images PANEL PROBLEMS — A proposal to install new leadership in Haiti appeared to be crumbling today as some political parties rejected the plan to create a presidential council that would manage the transition, The Associated Press reports. The panel would be responsible for selecting an interim prime minister and a council of ministers that would attempt to chart a new path for the Caribbean country that has been overrun by gangs. The violence has closed schools and businesses and disrupted daily life across Haiti. Jean Charles Moïse, an ex-senator and presidential candidate who has teamed up with former rebel leader Guy Philippe, held a news conference today to announce his rejection of the proposed council backed by the international community. Moïse insisted that a three-person presidential council he recently created with Philippe and a Haitian judge should be implemented. GET YOUR DRAFT CARDS READY — Denmark plans to conscript women for military service , the Danish government revealed today, becoming one of just a few countries requiring women to serve in the armed forces. “More robust conscription, including full gender equality, must contribute to solving defense challenges, national mobilization and manning our armed forces,” said Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen at a press conference. Women in Denmark can already volunteer for military service. In 2023, they made up about a quarter of the cohort. Denmark is now the third country in Europe to introduce female conscription. Norway and Sweden did so in 2015 and in 2017, respectively. The Danish Army consists of 7,000 to 9,000 professional troops, excluding conscripts undergoing basic training, according to official figures. Compulsory military service applies to men over the age of 18. However, because there are enough volunteers, not all young men are conscripted. Instead, a lottery is held.   Easily connect with the right N.Y. State influencers and foster the right relationships to champion your policy priorities. POLITICO Pro. Inside New York. Learn more .     NIGHTLY NUMBER €5 billion The size of a new fund for military aid to Ukraine ($5.47 billion) that EU countries agreed upon today after months of deadlock. There is an expectation that the Ukraine Assistance Fund will get another €5 billion next year. RADAR SWEEP THE PULL OF FANDOM — What is it that makes sports fans come back to their favorite team, year after year, even when failure is expected and sometimes even encouraged by the team’s management? There’s lots of different theories, but for a lot of fans, the joy of finally watching a good team is only heightened by the years of suffering that they’ve endured . This is something that fans of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves know all too well. The franchise has never won a championship. But this year, despite a terrible injury to one of their best players, there’s hope. The team is good, young and fun. It might not last forever, but it’s here now. For ESPN, writer and T-Wolves fan Hanif Abdurraqib went deep on the Timberwolves season, but in doing so excavated some deeper truths about fandom and America. PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1951: Women in Egypt carry slogans and shout as they demonstrate at the gates of King Farouk’s Abdin Palace in Cairo. They submitted a request to the King claiming political rights for Egyptian women — who at the time did not have the right to vote and could not be appointed to civil posts. | AP Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   FOLLOW US

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POLITICO Nightly: How House Republicans got to yes on an impeachment inquiry

 

BY MIA MCCARTHY Presented by House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), flanked by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), arrives to speak with reporters after the House passed a bill to formalize House Republicans' impeachment inquiry into President Biden at the U.S. Capitol today. | Francis Chung/POLITICO JUST INQUIRING — Not so long ago, the prospects of an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden appeared dim. The case seemed slipshod. Centrist Republicans, many of them sitting in House districts carried by Biden, pointed to a lack of evidence. Even some who weren’t in competitive seats worried about the direction of impeachment efforts. “Republicans in the House who are itching for an impeachment are relying on an imagined history,” wrote Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) , a member of the Trump-aligned House Freedom Caucus. Yet with one working day left in Congress, every member of the GOP majority voted today to open a formal impeachment inquiry into the president — including Buck. What changed between then and now? Many of the battleground-district Republicans still do not think there is enough evidence to impeach the president. But in the past month, GOP leadership has managed to whip enough votes to at least initiate the impeachment process, relying on the message that today’s action was merely a vote for an inquiry. "As we have said numerous times before, voting in favor of an impeachment inquiry does not equal impeachment," Majority Whip Tom Emmer said during a press conference on Tuesday. That distinction is an important one, at least in political terms. As Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who represents an Omaha-based district that voted for Biden by six points, put it recently, “I can defend an inquiry. I can’t defend impeachment right now .” The point about defensibility is an important one since there are 18 House Republicans representing districts that voted for Biden. That’s more than enough seats to flip control of the House next year. These members are caught in the crosswinds between Republican hardliners, who very much want to impeach the president, and the many Democrats back home, who view it as a crass partisan exercise. The members who once seemed so reluctant to go down the impeachment path now point to a contentious mid-November letter from the White House to the House GOP as justification. The letter asserted that “congressional harassment of the President to score political points is precisely the type of conduct that the Constitution and its separation of powers was meant to prevent” and questioned the House investigation’s legitimacy since they had not held a formal inquiry vote. Not long after, in early December, Speaker Mike Johnson announced there would be a vote on the inquiry. Republicans across the conference emphasize that today’s action is merely a vote to give the House full access to documents, interviews, and evidence needed to prove — or disprove — any impeachable offenses from the president. “If getting more information and exercising oversight responsibility requires us to continue this inquiry, I’m comfortable continuing the inquiry,” Rep Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.), who represents a district where Biden won 51 percent, told Nightly. Left unsaid by many Republicans is that an inquiry vote also temporarily alleviates pressure from conservative hardliners back home and, for the time being, deprives potential GOP primary challengers of ammunition. The House goes out of session tomorrow, so members will undoubtedly get an earful on the subject when they return home — particularly the 18 who will be traveling back to districts that Joe Biden won in 2020. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at mmccarthy@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @Reporter_Mia .   A message from bp: Across the US, bp supports more than 275,000 jobs to keep our energy flowing. Like updating turbine blades at one of our Indiana wind farms and producing more secure energy in the Gulf of Mexico. See how else bp is investing in America.   WHAT'D I MISS? — No more witnesses in Trump fraud trial, but verdict is at least a month away: The $250 million civil trial in which Donald Trump is accused of extensive business fraud heard from its last witness today, but a verdict won’t come for at least another month . Testimony came to a close after 11 weeks of proceedings, with Attorney General Tish James’ office calling its final rebuttal witness — an accounting professor — and then resting its case. Now, the trial will take a month long break. Closing arguments are scheduled for Jan. 11. — Fed sees lower rates in 2024 as inflation fight winds down: Federal Reserve officials today suggested that victory over inflation is within sight , signaling that they are likely done raising interest rates and that borrowing costs will go down somewhat next year. Members of the central bank’s rate-setting committee agreed to hold their main policy rate steady in their last vote of the year, a reflection of mounting data showing that price spikes continue to cool. In a sign of growing optimism that inflation is largely under control, Fed policymakers even went as far as penciling in three rate cuts for 2024. — Bennet tries to keep Senate in to clinch Ukraine-border deal: Sen. Michael Bennet is hoping to keep the Senate in town to finish border negotiations that would unlock Ukraine aid and is willing to flex his procedural muscle to do it, according to a person close to him. The Colorado Democrat is concerned that Congress might soon leave without finishing its work to increase border security, discussions that are now tied directly to Ukraine aid. He initially held the National Defense Authorization Act, but the Senate agreed to finish that bill this afternoon. Bennet is also considering holding up other legislation, including Federal Aviation Administration extension, which needs to pass before the end of the year.   Enter the “room where it happens”, where global power players shape policy and politics, with Power Play. POLITICO’s brand-new podcast will host conversations with the leaders and power players shaping the biggest ideas and driving the global conversations, moderated by award-winning journalist Anne McElvoy. Sign up today to be notified of new episodes – click here .     NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 BACK ON THE TRAIL — Former President Donald J. Trump is kicking off a flurry of campaign activity today with an eye toward a decisive victory in Iowa that would crush his Republican rivals’ hopes of emerging with any kind of momentum in the presidential primary, reports The New York Times. Trump delivered remarks in Coralville, a small city in eastern Iowa today before planned stops in New Hampshire, the second nominating state, and Nevada, third on the primary calendar, over the weekend. Trump will return to Iowa on Tuesday for a speech in Waterloo, a city in the northeastern part of the state. But as Trump is shoring up support in the other early states, prominent surrogates will hit the ground in Iowa on his behalf in a display of the particular advantages he enjoys as the former president and the primary’s dominant front-runner. TWO ROADS DIVERGE — Should Ron DeSantis fall short in the 2024 presidential primary campaign, there are two paths that could lay before him , writes NBC News. In one, he could become the “MAGA heir apparent.” In the other, he could become Donald Trump’s permanent political punching bag. And allies of both men see the second one as a distinct possibility…In short, Trump doesn’t want to just beat DeSantis; he wants to end his — and perhaps his family’s — political career for good. MEME MACHINE — A group of online meme-makers — who don’t work directly for former President Donald Trump — are nevertheless coalescing as a kind of shadow online ad agency for Trump’s presidential campaign , writes The New York Times. Take a recent video, called “Let’s Get Ready to Bumble,” a slick mash-up of President Biden’s verbal slip-ups and his stumbles set to a thumping 1990s dance track. When it was played on a big screen at Trump rallies late last year, it consistently drew laughs and jeers from the crowd. The former president asked an adviser to pass along a few notes to one of the video’s creators: It should include a clip of the president falling off a bicycle, he suggested, and another of him flubbing a line in a recent speech. The video’s co-creator — Bryan Heestand, a product engineer in Ohio who goes by the anonymous handle C3PMeme — rushed to incorporate the former president’s edits. Heestand doesn’t work for Trump, but he belongs to said group of meme-makers on the leading edge of his campaign. Led by a little-known podcaster and life coach, this meme team has spent much of the year flooding social media with content that lionizes the former president, promotes his White House bid and brutally denigrates his opponents.   A message from bp:     AROUND THE WORLD This pool photograph distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ahead of a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Riyadh on Dec. 6, 2023. | Alexey Nikolsky/POOL/AFP via Getty Images MEETING OF THE MINDS — White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan traveled to Saudi Arabia today to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman , according to two U.S. officials, reports POLITICO. The meeting came as the Biden administration works to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from expanding into a broader conflict within the Middle East, said the U.S. officials, both of whom were granted anonymity to speak about the visit. The trip also comes as international ships in the Red Sea have come under increasing attacks by Houthis in nearby Yemen. The U.S. views Saudi Arabia as a key partner in the region in managing those tensions, and had previously worked with the nation on efforts to broker peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the U.S. officials said. Saudi Arabia had been in talks to normalize relations with Israel prior to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, a process that Biden officials have since said they are eager to eventually resume. “Before Oct. 7 our team was working very hard on normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which was going to be — we still think there’s hope here — a stepping stone to get closer to a two-state solution,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said during today’s briefing at the White House. “Everybody’s focused rightly on what’s going on in Gaza, but that doesn’t mean we’re giving up on that.”   POLITICO AT CES® 2024 : We are going ALL On at CES 2024 with a special edition of the POLITICO Digital Future Daily newsletter. The CES-focused newsletter will take you inside the most powerful tech event in the world, featuring revolutionary products that cut across verticals, and insights from industry leaders that are shaping the future of innovation. The newsletter runs from Jan. 9-12 and will focus on the public policy-related aspects of the gathering. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of the show .     NIGHTLY NUMBER €10.2 billion The amount of money ($11.1 billion USD) that the European Commission unblocked in frozen EU cohesion funds earmarked for Hungary today, one day before European leaders are set to discuss new aid to Ukraine and the opening of accession negotiations for Kyiv. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has thus far opposed Ukraine’s bid to join the EU. RADAR SWEEP MOVIE NIGHT — Today, the Library of Congress released the 25 films that are going into the National Film Registry’s 2023 class . A distinct honor — movies have to be at least 10 years old and are selected for their lasting cultural, historic or aesthetic significance — this year films from 1955’s Lady and the Tramp to 1990’s Home Alone (a certified Christmas classic) to 2013’s 12 Years a Slave were selected to be preserved for as long as the Library of Congress is. See the full list from New York Magazine’s Zoe Guy .   PARTING IMAGE On this date in 2007: The Mitchell Report is released, detailing widespread steroid use in Major League Baseball. Former senator George Mitchell, the author of the report, delivers his remarks at the beginning of a New York news conference on the topic. | Richard Drew/AP Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   A message from bp: bp added more than $70 billion to the US economy last year by keeping oil and gas flowing and developing more lower carbon energy. It’s and, not or. See what doing both means for energy nationwide.     Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   FOLLOW US

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