OBAMA AGENDA: Dispatching Nabors
The president “is dispatching his deputy chief of staff, Rob Nabors, to help oversee a review of the Department of Veterans Affairs as anger grows over evidence that veterans died while waiting for care,” Reuters reports. The move came before VA Secretary Eric Shinseki is set to testify before Congress today.
The AP previews Obama's visit to the 9/11 museum, which opens today.
Obama yesterday dinged the GOP for holding up infrastructure fixes, saying they "are more interested in saying no because they are worried that maybe they’ll have to be at a bill signing with me than they are at actually doing a job they know would be good for America,” NBC's Andrew Rafferty reports.
A new NBC News poll shows that one in three people say that executions should be stopped if lethal injections are no longer a viable option, but two-thirds would back other methods like gas chambers and electric chairs.
HHS pick Sylvia Matthews Burwell made it through another confirmation hearing with few fireworks, the New York Times notes.
CONGRESS: Punting immigration until 2015?
The Hill reports that some Republicans want to punt immigration until next year, when they may control the Senate. (The Democrats’ response to this: So the GOP really wants to have this debate during its presidential primary season in 2015?)
Remember unemployment insurance? The issue appears to be heading "back to the drawing board" amid another deadlock.
John Harwood compares Boehner's task on immigration to Dick Gephardt's efforts to help Bush win authorization for the war in Iraq.
The Washington Post editorial board slams Republicans (and to some extent, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as well) for the failure of the energy efficiency consensus bill.
Reid told Buzzfeed that comments he made (to one of us!) about the Kochs vs. Sheldon Adelson have been misconstrued. "Exactly what I said, is that Sheldon Adeleson is great on all social issues, that’s what I said. I didn’t talk about him anymore. I didn’t praise Adelson, I just said on social issues he’s good. The point is this: We can speculate who is my favorite billionaire and everyone else can but the point is, there’s too much money in politics. I’ve seen a change, I’ve seen a change that is really not good.”
OFF TO THE RACES: “Flabbergasted”
Getting buzz yesterday: Bill Clinton said he's "flabbergasted" by Karl Rove's comments on Hillary Clinton's health.
Clinton's comments serve as a data point for this piece in the Washington Post, which notes that both Hillary and Bill Clinton have now "jumped into partisan combat."
The Wall Street Journal notes that Democrats are increasingly trying to influence the primaries that decide their GOP opponent.
And, eying voting rights battles, both parties are also wading into races for secretary of state, the Journal also writes.
Immigration isn't a political wild card only in America. The Washington Post: "While far-right parties have long been influential across continental Europe, they have always been relegated to the fringe in this country, which sees itself as open and inclusive. But the political and economic stars have aligned in UKIP’s favor, and a party that’s dismissed as racist, xenophobic and a bit loony by London sophisticates suddenly is steering the national debate with its calls for Britain to close down borders and leave the European Union."
CALIFORNIA: "Democrats may have reason for concern about a replay from 2012, when the party fumbled a sure pickup opportunity in Southern California thanks to the state’s new top-two primary," Roll Call writes.
GEORGIA: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution paints the likely runoff in the Georgia Senate race as a "remake of the bitter, last-ditch 2012 presidential primary battle between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich."
IOWA: Ted Cruz's father, Rafael, is booked for an Iowa conservative group's annual summit in August, the Des Moines Register reports.
OHIO: Ohio voters want Gov. John Kasich to take on Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race, but Clinton still leads in a head-to-head matchup, the Columbus Dispatch reports.
PENNSYLVANIA: Tom Wolf is way ahead in the Democratic primary for governor, per a new Harper poll. (And he's got a 67%-20% favorable rating).
NEBRASKA: The Omaha World-Herald follows up on Pete Ricketts' gubernatorial primary win, with hopeful Democrats seeing some weakness in the nominee's rural performance.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Americans for Prosperity has spent more than $3 million to date in the state hitting Democrats on support for Obamacare, NH Journal reports.
Not a good story for Scott Brown: The Huffington Post reports that Brown urged Republicans to kill a bipartisan energy efficiency bill to deny his opponent (and the bill’s top backer) Jeanne Shaheen an election year victory.
PROGRAMMING NOTES.
*** Thursday’s “The Daily Rundown” line-up: NBC’s Chuck Todd interviews Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed (D-GA) and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.
*** Thursday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: Tamron Hall interviews Retired General Barry McCaffrey & the Washington Post’s Dana Priest on Secretary Shinseki’s testimony before Congress today; McDonald’s worker Connie Ogletree and NELP’s Jack Temple on the worldwide fast food protests; Former Nigerian Ambassador Robin Sanders on the missing Nigerian girls; and Huffington Post’s Yasmine Hafiz on Iranian women shedding their veils for a Facebook page.
*** Thursday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Kristen Welker fills in for Andrea Mitchell and will interview Fmr. U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell, IAVA Legislative Director Alex Nicholson, Medal of Honor recipient Col. Jack Jacobs, NBC’s Bill Neely, Richard Engel and Ron Allen and the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza.
*** Thursday’s “The Reid Report” line-up: MSNBC’s Joy Reid interviews Capt. Vernice Armour & IAVA’s Nick McCormick on today’s Senate hearing on veterans care. Tsedeye Gebreselassie from the National Employment Law Project talks about today’s world wide fast food wage rally. Joy talks about Benghazi with Democratic strategist Jimmy Williams