Dec. 15, 2020 6:05 pm ET
There’s an emerging media narrative that Joe Biden is more difficult for the press to cover than Donald Trump because Mr. Biden allegedly has superior character and therefore generates fewer scandals. Accepting this spin naturally requires one to ignore the Biden family influence-peddling business. But the fear among media executives about their own businesses is real. Bashing Donald Trump has been profitable. Can you hold an audience by lauding Joe Biden?
“CNN and MSNBC Fret Over Post-Trump Future” is the headline on a New York Times story. But the paper could have just as easily been writing about itself. Timesmen John Koblin and Michael M. Grynbaum write:
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The Big Four met on and off for more than three hours Tuesday night in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s conference room in the Capitol. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images
DRIVING THE DAY
HERE’S WHAT WE CAN SAY at this early hour. If you are gambling or setting odds, there’s a damn good chance that there will be a stimulus deal reached. It could be reached today maybe! Theoretically! given that: Friday is the government funding deadline, all the leaders agree a Covid relief deal should be paired with government funding, they have said they won’t leave town until a Covid deal is notched and passed,
Critics say the unprecedented peek at the CCP’s personnel files raises fresh concerns that Chinese President Xi Jinping is overseeing an expanding global diplomatic and industrial spying operation aimed at destabilizing Beijing’s Western rivals.
“Recent reports of Chinese espionage are just the tip of the iceberg,” tweeted Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican. “The very first hearing of the Senate [Intelligence] Committee next Congress must be on China’s efforts to spy on, influence & potentially coerce government officials in the U.S., including members of Congress.”
The CCP has 92 million members, nearly 7% of the nation’s population. They swear complete loyalty to the party and pledge to carry out its orders and promote communism worldwide.
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer told reporters that Ms. Haaland would make an excellent pick and that he hasn’t tried to discourage Mr. Biden from tapping House members for the incoming administration.
Mr. Biden has said the narrow margins in the House and Senate are factoring into his personnel choices.
He’s already named Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio as his pick to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development and has named Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana as a senior advisor and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.
Both Mr. Hoyer and House Majority Whip James Clyburn expressed concerns last week about losing a third member, at least temporarily, as House Democrats head into the new Congress with a diminished majority.
In this May 20, 2020, file photo, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. Johnson said Monday, Aug. 10, that he has subpoenaed the FBI to produce . more > By Alex Swoyer - The Washington Times - Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee Sen. Ron Johnson called his Democratic counterpart on the panel a liar on Wednesday for launching false allegations of Russian disinformation.
The Wisconsin Republican said Sen. Gary Peters, Michigan Democrat and ranking member on the committee, spread misinformation about Russian interference in the 2016 election and then accused Mr. Johnson of spreading Russian disinformation.