The Hill's Morning Report — High drama expected at first Jan. 6 committee hearing
The House select panel on Jan. 6 has prepared a prime-time narrative tonight that asserts that American democracy and the Constitution were nearly goners in the hands of elected officials and a large band of fantasists and facilitators. Amid the committee’s deep dive into what transpired, and former President Trump’s role, some of the same elected officials who said the 2020 presidential election was rigged (it wasn’t) and that President Biden was not a legitimate president (he is), are debating whether tougher background checks, red flag laws and
Read MoreFree college: How do you pay for it?
Story at a glance It could cost around $680 billion annually to provide free college at public institutions in the U.S. Many states, like California and New York, already offer free college tuition programs to eligible residents. As tuition rises alongside housing and food costs, some experts argue the federal government has a bigge
Read MoreBiden, economy imperiled by predicted May inflation spike
Another spike in monthly price growth is posing a serious threat to the U.S. economy — and President Biden’s political prospects. New consumer price index (CPI) inflation data to be released Friday is expected to show consumer prices rising at a faster rate between April and May, due largely to surging oil prices and their ripple effects throughout the economy. Shocks to the global food supply driven by the war in Ukraine and a sharp increase in summer travel and energy usage are other factors likely to push inflation even higher. After months of downplaying
Read MoreThe Memo: Democrats raise the stakes before first Jan. 6 hearing
Democrats have ramped up expectations for the first televised hearing of the Jan. 6 committee — and now they have to deliver. The stakes could hardly be higher when the House select committee’s proceedings get underway at 8 p.m. Thursday. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a member of the committee, promised in April that there would be revelations that “will really blow the roof off the House.” In a more recent interview, with The Washington Post, Raskin said that the panel had discovered evidence encompassing “a lot more than incitement” by former President Trump.
Read MoreWhat does a Jan. 6 hearing victory look like for Democrats?
Democrats cheering the congressional investigation into last year’s violent attack on the Capitol face a tricky question as they make their case against former President Trump: What does a victory look like? The answer seems to be as diverse as the House Democratic Caucus itself. A number of lawmakers said they want the open proceedings, which begin in prime time on Thursday, to provide a high-stakes history lesson of sorts, revealing not only what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, when a pro-Trump mob tried to block the peaceful transfer of power, but why the threat to de
Read More