It's Thursday. There is so much happening in the news today. Here's what's coming up:
- Next week's deadline to pass legislation on government spy powers causing a lot of drama among House Republicans
- Some progressives have called for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to retire, but not everyone agrees.
- O.J. Simpson has died.
- Oh, and Kristi Yamaguchi, Robert DeNiro and the Clintons attended at last night's White House state dinner. Keep reading for red carpet photos and tidbits.
I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. |
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Justice Sotomayor rn (probably): |
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The talk of the progressive world is whether Justice Sonia Sotomayor should step down at the end of this term while Democrats control the White House and the Senate. Why?: There were similar calls for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to retire while former President Obama was in office. She did not step aside and died in 2020, giving former President Trump an opening to appoint another justice. That's how conservatives have a 6-3 majority. A few things would have to happen: Let's say Trump wins in November, Republicans win control of the Senate, and something happened to Sotomayor over the next four years, conservatives could control seven of the nine Supreme Court seats. That's a worrisome prospect for progressives. What escalated this chatter?: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) recently told NBC News that Democrats "should learn a lesson" after the Ginsburg situation. How widespread are the calls for Sotomayor's retirement?: Well, The Hill's Al Weaver reports that Senate Democrats are pushing back against those calls. A few examples: Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said he is "baffled" by the chatter. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called it "nonsense." Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) told The Hill: "She's not 70. I might remind some of my colleagues to look around, check their birth certificate[s]. She's going full speed ahead. I'm not aware of significant issues, and I am aware of extraordinary competence." Read Weaver's full reporting |
➤ RELATED READS ON THE SOTOMAYOR DEBATE: |
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O.J. Simpson, the former NFL star who was acquitted of murder in 1995 in the "trial of the century," has reportedly died of cancer at the age of 76. O.J.'s family posted the announcement on his X account: "On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren." Read the announcement on O.J.'s X account From Simpson's New York Times obituary: "He ran to football fame on the field and made fortunes in movies. Then a trial in which he was charged with killing his former wife and her friend changed everything." Read his NYT obit ^ Plus: The Times linked to the Oct. 4, 1995, front page, featuring his acquittal. |
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What fun would that be if it didn't spectacularly blow up?: |
House Republican leaders are scrambling after 19 of its members tanked a vote to reauthorize the government's surveillance powers on Wednesday. The deadline is April 19, *nervous laugh* so lawmakers are looking for a Plan B. Oh, if I could be a fly on that wall: After the vote failed, House Republicans went into the second closed-door meeting of the day. One lawmaker described the meeting as a tense "airing of grievances." Another called it "chaos." This seems to happen a lot these days… I love this 'could have been an email' reference: Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) described the internal GOP meeting as "a conference that could have been an email, minus the yelling." |
Read more on the GOP infighting before next week's deadline, via The Hill's Mychael Schnell, Mike Lillis and Rebecca Beitsch. |
➤ SPOTTED ON CAPITOL HILL: |
Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson — or Mitchell Pritchett on "Modern Family" — is in the Senate today to talk about a bill on nonprofit theaters. (H/t to The Hill's Aris Folley) 📸 Photo |
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Well, that's unless Trump can stop it…: |
Former President Trump's first criminal trial, the New York hush money trial, is scheduled begin Monday. Trump has been trying to delay it: Trump's legal team has thrown spaghetti on the wall, so to speak, as far as strategies to delay the trial. So far, judges have rejected his attempts. Read more: 'Trump faces do-or-die moment with hush money trial' The question we're all naturally wondering: When this trial does begin, can we watch? The Hill's Zach Schonfeld told me that no, it will not be livestreamed. But he will be in the courtroom and posting trial updates. Follow @ZachASchonfeld on X |
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The Bidens pulled out all the stops: |
(I would love to know what these two men are talking about ^) President Biden and first lady Jill Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, Yuko Kishida, for an official White House state dinner on Wednesday evening. |
Peep the full guest list 👀 Hahaha, Robert DeNiro is all of us: The Daily Mail's Nikki Schwab asked actor Robert DeNiro how he feels about the election. "What do you think?" he shoots back. 📹 Watch 📸 The Bidens and the Kishidas posing on the red carpet The floor was designed to look like a koi pond: 📸 Photo Ice skater Kristi Yamaguchi attended: 📸 Photo And so did Jeff Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sanchez: 📸 Photo And so did the Clintons: Former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton seemed to get a kick out of seeing Hillary Clinton's portrait hanging as they entered the dinner, The Hill's Judy Kurtz noticed. 📸 Photos Harris wore Valentino: Kurtz pointed out that Vice President Harris wore a Valentino dress to Wednesday's state dinner. 📸 Photo of Harris and Emhoff 📸 Another photo of her outfit Paul Simon performed 'Graceland': 📹Watch Kishida made a 'Star Trek' reference: 📹 Watch |
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🧀 Celebrate: Today is National Cheese Fondue Day! 🌸 Oh, so you think you can just REPLACE Stumpy?!: (Lol, I'm kidding. Thanks, Japan!) Japan will give the U.S. 250 new cherry blossom trees to replace the trees removed during construction on the basin wall in Washington, D.C. (The Hill) 📱 A new update to Instagram: Instagram will automatically blur nude images in direct messages sent to minors. It will also add the feature for adults to turn on and off. (The Hill) |
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The House and Senate are in. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C. (all times Eastern) |
- This morning: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered a joint address to Congress. 💻 Livestream
- 12:40 p.m.: Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken host a luncheon for Kishida and his wife his wife Yuko Kishida.
- 1:30 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream
- 3:15 p.m.: Biden meets with Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
- 4:15 p.m.: Biden, Kishida and Marcos Jr. hold a trilateral meeting. Harris also attends.
- 4:15 p.m.: First and last House votes. 📆 Today's agenda
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Because you made it this far, I'll leave you with something adorable. Watch this baby elephant learn how to use its trunk. |
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