Comment on The ‘impeachment inquiry’ hearings so far

New York Times: “If Ms. Greene’s goals in Congress were to chair a powerful committee or to build up political capital to drive major policy initiatives — or if she had to worry about drawing a political challenger — this all would constitute a major problem for her.” “But those have never been the incentives that have driven the gentle lady from Georgia, whose congressional career has been defined by delighting her base and stoking anger on the right more than legislative achievement or political pragmatism.”

“When Stormy Daniels testified in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial, the former president huffed in his seat. He shook his head at times. His anger was so visible and distracting that the judge asked his lawyers to tell him to cool off,” Politico reports. “But for all the eye-popping stories about their alleged tryst — which Trump has denied — the former president and his allies believe it will do little to dent him in the court of public opinion.

“More money has been spent on reserving ad space for the Ohio Senate race this fall than for the presidential race,“ Axios reports. “The Ohio race could single-handedly determine control of the Senate next year, and the numbers again point to record-breaking spending expected this election cycle.”

Politico: “The administration is hoping that the threat is enough to stop a large-scale invasion of Rafah from happening, even as it continues to struggle to explain what, exactly, crosses their red line. Officials say they don’t want Israel to launch an operation that could further destroy infrastructure and send more civilians fleeing for safety, but they’ve consistently referenced being open to smaller, more-targeted missions in the southern Gaza city.” “Netanyahu, who faces mounting domestic pressure to destroy Hamas and bring hostages home, appears poised to escalate the campaign, even without the U.

“California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta (D) said he and his staff have been reviewing former President Trump’s second-term agenda in detail to prepare a potential onslaught of environmental, immigration and civil rights lawsuits in the event Trump defeats President Biden,” the Los Angeles Times reports. Said Bonta: “We can’t be caught flat-footed.

“President Joe Biden’s administration is poised to unveil a sweeping decision on China tariffs as soon as next week, one that’s expected to target key strategic sectors while rejecting the across-the-board hikes sought by Donald Trump,” Bloomberg reports.