Happening this Thursday: Idalia hits South Carolina, bringing heavy rains and strong winds… Mitch McConnell appears to freeze again at event in Kentucky… NBC’s Scott Wong profiles Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight Committee who hasn’t closed the door to higher office…And Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy and Mike Pence all campaign in Iowa.
But FIRST… Is the best way to stop Donald Trump’s possible return to the White House by utilizing a little-known provision in the 14th Amendment?
That’s an effort that’s gained momentum across the country — in New Hampshire, Arizona, Michigan and elsewhere.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson even invoked the 14th Amendment at last week’s GOP presidential debate.
“More people are understanding the importance of that, including conservative legal scholars, who says [Trump] may be disqualified under the 14th Amendment from being president again as a result of the [Jan.6] insurrection,” Hutchinson said.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states that no one shall hold any office who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the [United States], or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
Yet it’s easy to see how this 14th Amendment effort — by Trump’s conservative and liberal opponents — could backfire.
After all, if the indictments against Trump have only made him stronger with GOP primary voters so far, how would these voters react to secretaries of state or state attorneys general using the 14th Amendment to keep him off the ballot?
How do you bar him from the ballot before he’s even been convicted in the election-interference cases he’s facing?
What about the fact that special counsel Jack Smith didn’t even charge Trump with “insurrection” or “rebellion”?
And then there’s the 6-3 conservative U.S. Supreme Court, which the New York Times notes could reject these lawsuits if they make it all the way there.
Bottom line: This 14th Amendment gambit sure looks like a way to short-circuit GOP voters — and then general-election voters — from having a say if Trump gets another shot at winning the White House.
It may be an argument worth having; a number of legal scholars (including some prominent conservative ones) believe it is. But is it too late, especially when Trump is already leading the GOP presidential race by huge margins?
Headline of the day
The number of the day is … 7900%
That’s the increase in un-itemized dollars raised by Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer when comparing the first six months of 2023 with the first six months of 2021 (that’s money raised from people who gave under $200).
While the Oversight Committee chairman has raised more than $400,000 in un-itemized money so far this year, he had raised just $5,000 from those small donors at this point in 2021.
The massive uptick in small-dollar fundraising comes as he’s played a high-profile role in the House’s investigations into President Joe Biden, and as he’s, per a new story from NBC News’ Scott Wong, not ruling out a bid for higher office in the future.
Read more about Comer’s political evolution in Wong’s new story on NBCNews.com.
Other numbers to know
143,000: The number of customers still without power in Florida following Hurricane Idalia, as of early Thursday morning.
$95 million: How much the Biden administration pledged to help Hawaii’s electrical grid become more resilient after the devastating Maui fires earlier this month.
As much as $2.2 billion: By how much former President Donald Trump exaggerated his personal wealth to financial institutions, according to accusations levied by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
$80 million: The amount that the Biden administration is providing to Taiwan in military aid from a fund typically used for sovereign states.
Over 30: The number of new LGBTQ-related education laws passed across 17 states that are set to take effect in the 2023-2024 school year.
22%: The average increase in hate crimes in America’s 10 largest cities last year, according to a new study reported on by Axios.
More than 100: The number of witnesses in the impeachment trial for Attorney General Ken Paxton (who has been suspended from that post pending the result of the trial). Those witnesses must appear in person on the first day of the trial next week, KXAN reports.
Eyes on 2024: A week later, Ramaswamy is still in spotlight
A week after tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy’s fiery debate performance, he’s under more scrutiny than he was at any other point in the campaign before the debate.
In Iowa on Wednesday, former Vice President Mike Pence told reporters, “[Ramaswamy’s] wrong on foreign policy, he’s wrong on American leadership in the world, He’s wrong on how we get this economy moving,” per NBC News’ Sarah Dean and Alex Tabet.
The two shared a tense exchange at last week’s debate and later, on Sunday, Ramaswamy told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that, “I would have done it very differently,” if he were vice president during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
“What he’s proposing in terms of using the authority as president of the Senate to nationalize elections was incoherent and unconstitutional,” Pence said in response on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the New York Times chronicled a “pattern of falsehoods” shared by Ramaswamy during public appearances or on the campaign trail, including instances where he told voters misleading anecdotes, or departed from past statements about Trump, 9/11 conspiracies and aid to Israel.
And, the political newcomer shared headlines this week with rapper Eminem, after he said he would respect the musician’s wishes and stop using his music on the campaign trail.
In other campaign news …
Pro-Burgum bucks: Best of America PAC, the super PAC supporting North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, is launching a $4 million national ad buy as part of a push to help Burgum qualify for the second GOP debate, per Politico. A new Best of America ad running Thursday morning highlights footage of Burgum from last week’s debate, and features his plan to “take on China and win.”
Manchin’s next move? Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and his daughter Heather, a former pharmaceutical CEO, have been pitching donors on a $100 million project to “promote centrist policies and candidates,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Cooper’s choice: Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who cannot run for re-election in North Carolina due to term limits, formally endorsed state Attorney General Josh Stein on Wednesday as his preferred successor, per the Associated Press.
Masters is in? The Wall Street Journal reports that Arizona Republican Blake Masters, who lost a bid for Senate last year, is expected to run again for Senate in the seat currently held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.
Backing incumbents: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Democratic leaders announced Wednesday that they are backing Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s re-election as she faces the threat of a primary challenge from AIPAC, a pro-Israel group.
ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world:
A federal judge ruled that former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani defamed former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss.
Ex-White House adviser Peter Navarro is set to stand trial next week for criminal contempt of Congress after a federal judge denied his attempt to use Trump to invoke executive privilege to get out of testifying in front of the congressional Jan. 6 committee.
The Department of Health and Human Services is asking the DEA to ease federal restrictions on marijuana.
