Spiegel Stuff: The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by ExxonMobil - Cheney’s GOP battle intensifies | McCarthy says GOP ‘concerned’ she can’t carry out job | Allies vow to oust her | Cheney spox says it’s about ‘whitewashing’ Jan. 6 attacks | Trump critics face wrath of GOP | FDA preparing to authorize Pfizer for teens | Woman unmatches with Ben Affleck on dating app thinking it was fake

Presented by ExxonMobil

TALK OF THE MORNING

Liz Cheney, public enemy No. 1 for Kevin McCarthy:

Via The Hill’s Scott Wong and Mike Lillis, “Top allies of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are vowing to oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), one of the harshest critics of former President Trump in either party, from her leadership post by the end of the month.” https://bit.ly/3ehr3Ev

Why — she isn’t falling in line with McCarthy’s team: “They argue that the No. 3 Republican has repeatedly contradicted McCarthy and his team, undermining the party’s message and its efforts to take back the House majority in next year’s midterm elections.”

How Cheney is defending herself: “Cheney … has defended her against-the-grain approach, saying she’s simply trying to tug the party away from its veneration of a single figure and back to its pre-Trump policy ideals. Part of that responsibility, she says, is calling out Trump and his loyal foot soldiers for claiming that the 2020 election was stolen from him.”

THIS A.M. FROM MCCARTHY:

In an interview on “Fox & Friends” this morning, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was asked whether it was the vote to impeach former President Trump that has made House Republicans unhappy with her. https://bit.ly/3xNbcFq

McCarthy’s response: “There's no concern about how she voted on impeachment. That decision has been made. I have heard from members concerned about her ability to carry out the job as conference chair — to carry out the message … We all need to be working as one if we're able to win the majority. Remember, majorities are not given; they are earned. And that's about the message about going forward.”

Watch McCarthy’s appearance on “Fox & Friends”: https://bit.ly/3h7ZtuW

^LATE THIS A.M. — LIZ CHENEY’S COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR JEREMY ADLER REACTS:

Via Punchbowl News’s Jake Sherman, “This is about whether the Republican Party is going to perpetuate lies about the 2020 election and attempt to whitewash what happened on Jan 6. Liz will not do that. That is the issue.” https://bit.ly/3ehocLF

HOW TRUMP’S CRITICS ARE FACING THE WRATH OF THE REPUBLICAN BASE:

Via The Hill’s Niall Stanage: https://bit.ly/2QVysQX

It’s Tuesday, May the 4th. Happy Star Wars Day!! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.

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A MESSAGE FROM EXXONMOBIL

An idea to help decarbonize heavy industrial areas

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IN CONGRESS

Hashtag no regrets:

Watch: https://bit.ly/3xVZRD4

^Throwback: Here is the controversial photo in question: https://bit.ly/3tjvRxp

It’s like knowing a breakup is coming:

Via The Hill’s Max Greenwood, “House Democrats are beginning to confront the challenging reality awaiting them in the 2022 midterm elections amid a spate of retirements and dim redistricting prospects.” https://bit.ly/33bo8Xl

Why Dems have been crossing their fingers: “Democrats had hoped that brightening economic and public health outlooks combined with ongoing discord within the GOP would save them from the kind of electoral thrashing that historically besets the president’s party in midterm elections.”

The slow realization: “But privately, some in the party are beginning to acknowledge the uphill battle they will face next year when their narrow majorities in the House and Senate will be on the line.”

How this could play out between now and 2022: https://bit.ly/33bo8Xl

IN THE WHITE HOUSE

Joey B’s secret weapon:

Via The Hill’s Brett Samuels, “The White House is deploying first lady Jill Biden across the country as a key asset to build support for President Biden’s proposed investments in infrastructure, child care and education.” https://bit.ly/3vFMhlk

For example: “The first lady joined the president on a trip to a Virginia elementary school and community college on Monday, and she is scheduled to travel out West later this week to Utah, Nevada and Colorado as the administration coordinates a publicity blitz in support of the American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan.”

Why Jill Biden is particularly helpful to the Biden administration: “While first ladies have often hit the road to boost the president’s agenda, experts say Biden is well positioned to build support for the White House agenda because of her experience as a political spouse and her decades spent as a teacher.”

LATEST WITH THE CORONAVIRUS

Teens could be next in line!:

Via The New York Times’s Noah Weiland, Apoorva Mandavilli and Sharon LaFraniere, “The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to authorize use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in adolescents 12 to 15 years old by early next week, according to federal officials familiar with the agency’s plans, opening up the U.S. vaccination campaign to millions more people.” https://nyti.ms/3nMDETl

Interesting read — To misquote Amy Winehouse, ‘They tried to make me get the vaccine, but I said, ‘no, no, no’:

The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson posted an open invitation for people who do not plan to take a COVID-19 vaccine to explain their reasoning. After speaking with more than a dozen people in that boat, Thompson gave his assessment of what it would take for the vaccine-hesitant in the U.S. to get the shot.

Excerpt: “I cannot imagine that any amount of hectoring or shaming, or proclamations from the public-health or Democratic communities, will make much of a difference for this group … From my conversations, I see three ways to persuade no-vaxxers: make it more convenient to get a shot; make it less convenient to not get a shot; or encourage them to think more socially.”

The full story: https://bit.ly/3vTlr9x

CASE NUMBERS:

Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 32,473,835

U.S. death toll: 577,584

Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y

VACCINATION NUMBERS:

Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 247 million shots have been given.

Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 2.29 million doses

For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million.

Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH

Op-ed: https://bit.ly/2QQXmRy

A MESSAGE FROM EXXONMOBIL

An idea to help decarbonize heavy industrial areas

NOTABLE TWEETS:

Getting traction — oh wow, I can’t unsee this:

In the tweet’s replies, lots of people are guessing that a wide-angle lens caused this effect.

Social media users had a lot of fun with this. Here are some of the comments: https://bit.ly/2Sfey3x

Does anyone else see a giant acorn in the background? Just me?:

Watch: https://bit.ly/3eTKxhj

I had to do a double-take on this story:

ON TAP:

The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Washington, D.C. Vice President Harris is in Wisconsin.

9:35 a.m. EDT: Vice President Harris delivered remarks to the Washington Conference on the Americas.

10:15 a.m. EDT: President Biden received the President’s Daily Brief.

10:55 a.m. EDT: Vice President Harris left for Milwaukee.

2 p.m. EDT: Vice President Harris visits clean energy laboratories at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and participates in a roundtable discussion.

5:50 p.m. EDT: Vice President Harris returns to Washington, D.C.

WHAT TO WATCH:

12:30 p.m. EDT: White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3xNwkLs

2:30 p.m. EDT: President Biden delivers remarks on the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination program. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3eRCBxg

NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF...:

Today is National Orange Juice Day.

And to celebrate Star Wars Day today, here’s a list of Star Wars sales and deals, via CNet: https://cnet.co/2PMGdYO

Sorry, Ben. Happens to the best of us:

An influencer matched with Ben Affleck on a dating app. She thought it was fake and quickly unmatched. Affleck then sent her an Instagram video saying, "Nivine, why did you unmatch me? It's me." https://et.tv/3b4euKu

Watch the video — it’s pretty funny: https://bit.ly/2Sq8Pbn

And to brighten your Tuesday, here’s a dog who really appreciates technology: https://bit.ly/3aYw9DC