NotedDC — Protesters to descend on Washington
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Thousands of demonstrators are set to march from the National Mall to the Supreme Court this Saturday protesting over the court’s upcoming decision on Roe v. Wade.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who has spoken openly about an abortion she had as a teenager, plans to address the crowd, a spokesperson told NotedDC.
More than 300 other protests are planned across the country for Saturday, part of the “Bans Off Our Bodies” day of action organized by pro-abortion rights groups.
“We’re going to fight for our lives,” Rachel O’Leary Carmona, the executive director of Women’s March, told NotedDC. “Lives are at stake.”
“The support has been overwhelming,” said Kayla Marquez, associate director of organizing at Planned Parenthood.
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Psaki’s warnings
White House press secretary Jen Psaki offered some advice — and warnings — to her deputy Karine Jean-Pierre, who will helm the briefing room starting Monday.
Psaki, whose last day at the White House is Friday, revealed she’s received death threats and texts containing the names of her young children. She also claimed her home address was circulated within a local GOP group in northern Virginia.
“That’s when it becomes a little scary,” Psaki said Thursday at a Christian Science Monitor Breakfast. (The local GOP group denies it publicly released such information.)
Jean-Pierre, who will be the first Black and openly gay White House press secretary, has already drawn attention from Fox News’ Tucker Carlson. The host in a monologue earlier this week asserted her LGBT identity is “why she got the job.”
Psaki gave Jean-Pierre the same advice she received from her mother: “Stiffen your spine, keep your feet planted on the ground and nobody can waiver you.”
(And yes, Psaki did say she will miss her sparring partner, Fox’s Peter Doocy.)
POSSIBLE DARK HORSE IN PA.
Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick are the two names that have been at the top of most Pennsylvania GOPers’ minds as they prepare to vote in the May 17 primary.
But now underdog candidate Kathy Barnette is leading some polls, running more in line with the MAGA movement than her opponents.
Her surge in popularity came after former President Trump endorsed Oz, with Barnette arguing that “MAGA belongs to the people” and not Trump.
And following the news that Roe v. Wade might be overturned, she ran an ad saying she wouldn’t be alive if her mother, who was raped at the age of 11, got an abortion.
Conservative groups have donated to her campaign, though Trump has raised alarm bells as Republicans hope to appeal to more moderate voters in November.
“Kathy Barnette will never be able to win the General Election against the Radical Left Democrats,” Trump said in a statement Thursday.
If Barnette wins Tuesday’s primary, she is one step closer to becoming the first Black Republican woman in the Senate.
Read more from The Hill’s Tal Axelrod
Jan. 6 panel seeks special guests
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack is making more big news as its first public hearing (less than a month away) approaches.
The panel has now revealed subpoenas for testimony from House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and four other Republicans over the circumstances that day.
All five Republicans subpoenaed by the panel — McCarthy along with Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio), Scott Perry (Pa), Andy Biggs (Ariz.) and Mo Brooks (Ala.) — have refused to testify voluntarily.
“We urge our colleagues to comply with the law, do their patriotic duty, and cooperate with our investigation as hundreds of other witnesses have done,” the Jan. 6 Select Committee said in a statement announcing the move.
Why it matters: Congressional panels rarely subpoena sitting members for testimony (though the House Ethics Committee has done this when investigating member misconduct). The select committee’s move is also facing particular pushback given the history surrounding the probe.
McCarthy pulled his GOP slate from the committee when Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) refused to sit two of his picks on the panel, citing their ties to former President Trump. One of the committee’s main tasks is to look into what role, if any, Trump played in the attack that sought to disrupt certification of the 2020 election results.
What happens next: Refusal to comply with the congressional subpoena could lead to a $1,000 fine and/or imprisonment for up to a year. The committee has been pressing ahead for nearly a year behind-the-scenes, interviewing potential witnesses, including Trump’s three older children — Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric. The panel has scheduled its first hearing for June 9, followed by public hearings on specific topics.
Justice in the Capitol
Democrats and special guests marked the impending placement of statues in tribute to Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O’Connor in the Capitol during a ceremony Thursday.
President Biden signed the statue legislation into law last month after it passed with bipartisan support. Sixty-three House Republicans voted against the proposal.
An ongoing effort: Of the more than 250 statues currently in the Capitol collection, only 14 depict women, including Alabama’s statue of Helen Keller that was placed in the visitor’s center in 2009 and North Dakota’s statue of Sakakawea in 2003.
“Those fortunate enough to spend time in the Capitol quickly notice: it’s a whole bunch of guys,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat who was one of the leaders of the effort to honor Ginsburg and O’Connor, said during Thursday’s event.
She and other female lawmakers have been on a mission to get more women honored in the halls of the Capitol.
The two statues honoring the justices must be placed in the next two years, and the legislation prioritizes a location near the Capitol’s old Supreme Court chamber. Klobuchar said their placement will ultimately be up to the Architect of the Capitol.
(Worth noting: The legislation requires the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library to consider selecting an artist from underrepresented demographic groups.)
O’Connor, 92, the first woman on the Supreme Court, retired in 2006 and revealed in 2018 that she had been diagnosed with dementia. Her son, Scott O’Connor, told attendees Thursday that she’s not been depressed in her advanced age. “She’s in very good spirits and happy to see close friends and family,” he said.
Ginsburg, known as one of the more liberal justices on the bench, died in 2020 and was replaced by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative Trump nominee.
End of an era
Washingtonians waved goodbye to Trump’s name on Pennsylvania Avenue hours after the lease to the D.C. hotel bearing his name was sold for $375 million. The new owners plan to rebrand the building the Waldorf Astoria.
NUMBER TO KNOW
1 million
Number of people in the United States who have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began in 2020. President Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) were among those who acknowledged the grim milestone on Thursday.
And finally…travel to Europe without leaving DC
More than 20 different embassies belonging to the European Union are holding an open house this Saturday, where visitors can enjoy authentic food, music and performances. And it’s free. No passport required!
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