Welcome back to 10 Things in Politics. Sign up here to receive this newsletter. Send tips to bgriffiths@insider.com or tweet me at @BrentGriffiths.
Here's what we're talking about:
- Matt Gaetz's former classmates say he's an embarrassment to William & Mary Law School
- Biden's plan to send $400 billion to help families caring for loved ones with disabilities is in jeopardy as infrastructure talks falter
- Benjamin Netanyahu is officially out of power
One thing to watch for: DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas begins his first international trip as secretary with a two-day visit to Mexico.
Getty Images
1. CLASS WARFARE: Some of Rep. Matt Gaetz's law-school classmates wish he'd just disappear. The Florida congressman's scandals loom large over his former friends and acquaintances from William & Mary Law School's class of 2007. They remember him as an attention-seeker with a frat-boy vibe and a keg at the ready.
Insider spoke with 14 of Gaetz's former classmates. Here's what they said:
They are considering his previous antics in a new light: Gaetz is being investigated on suspicion of having sex with a minor, a charge he vehemently denies. He also faces a list of other allegations, including showing photos of nude women to fellow lawmakers. Some of his classmates say the constant headlines put his law-school actions in a new light, including a 2006 email for a Super Bowl party that requested attendees bring chips, $1 bills, and strippers.
Read the email for yourself:
Email obtained by Insider
- A former law-school classmate says the "strippers" line was definitely a joke: A spokesman for Gaetz told Insider, "While Congressman Gaetz has never hosted a party with strippers, he makes excellent BBQ chicken."
Another former classmate opined that Gaetz's behavior was "more over-the-top now": Thirty-four of Gaetz's fellow classmates joined a group of more than 500 William & Mary Law School alumni who signed a petition urging him to resign.
- His classmates say they keep a close eye when he's in the news: "Every time The Daily Beast breaks another story on a Friday, it's like, 'Oh boy, go check Twitter,'" said one former classmate who participates in at least three group-text threads with William & Mary alumni where Gaetz is regularly discussed.
Read more on Gaetz's law-school days and how he bragged about growing up in the "Truman Show" house.
2. Benjamin Netanyahu is officially out of power: Netanyahu, the longest-serving Israeli prime minister in history, lost power to his former ally Naftali Bennett, who now presides over a sweeping coalition that was united mainly on sweeping Netanyahu out of office. Netanyahu is now the opposition leader and vowed to return to power soon.
- "Bibi" did not go quietly: Netanyahu invoked the Holocaust in his final speech, arguing that his successor would not stand up to US President Joe Biden when it's necessary, Haaretz reports. He said: "In 1944, at the height of the Holocaust, Roosevelt refused to bomb the trains and gas [chambers], which could have saved many of our people."
Courtesy Diana Flores.
3. Biden's $400 billion plan to aid families caring for those with disabilities hangs in the balance of infrastructure talks: Under the president's plan, Congress would add $400 billion over eight years to help more people get home care. An alternative infrastructure proposal a bipartisan group of senators agreed on last week doesn't include that kind of help for families. "I'm just scared that our families are going to end up on the cutting-room floor as part of dealmaking," one advocate said.
4. NATO allies expected to press Biden over Afghanistan withdrawal: NATO and its partners are hoping the president provides clarity during a summit today over the end of America's longest war, as many NATO members will also be departing as well, The Washington Post reports. Countries are anxious over what the future will look like, from keeping Kabul's airport operational to keeping a critical hospital running.
5. These are the stocks that lawmakers are trading: Freshman Rep. Scott Franklin, a Republican from Florida, unloaded a staggering number of shares on May 25 worth up to $165 million in various companies. His largest sale appears to be $35 million to $100 million worth of stock in the telecommunications giant AT&T.
Rep. Mark Green, a Republican from Florida, bought up to $750,000 in shares of the motor-fuel distributor CrossAmerica Partners in two separate purchases last month.
Meanwhile, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, is the latest lawmaker to want to end this weekly round-up, in a manner of speaking. Jayapal plans to introduce legislation that would bar lawmakers and top federal officials from trading individual stocks.
6. G7 leaders push for "transparent" investigation into pandemic's origins: Biden and other top world leaders signed a statement pushing for a "timely" and "transparent" inquiry into COVID-19's origins led by the World Health Organization, just one of a list of implicit and explicit rebukes world leaders leveled against China.
- China had one of its worst weeks on the world stage in a while: Beijing fired back at the G7 that "the days when global decisions were dictated by a small group of countries are long gone."
7. A federal judge tossed out a lawsuit over a hospital's vaccine mandate: US District Judge Lynn Hughes tossed out a lawsuit from more than 100 hospital employees who sued Houston Methodist over its policy requiring all staff members to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Hughes was not sympathetic to either of the employees' arguments, including that the hospital was violating the Nuremberg Code of 1947.
8. Trump's own White House counsel was reportedly swept up in leak investigations: President Donald Trump's Justice Department subpoenaed Apple in 2018 for information from the account of Donald McGahn, then the White House counsel, The New York Times reports. The news is just the latest extraordinary disclosure about the Trump administration secretly seizing personal data from reporters and even Democratic lawmakers.
CHRIS JACKSON
9. Biden says Queen Elizabeth II reminded him of his mother: "I don't think she'd be insulted, but she reminded me of my mother in terms of the look of her and just the generosity," Biden said after his meeting with the Queen. Biden added that the Queen, who was meeting her 13th sitting US president, asked him about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
10. When the cat is the burglar: An Oregon woman has found a creative way to apologize to her neighbors who are not feline so good thanks to her klepto cat. Instead of making "apology rounds" for the stolen gloves, face masks, and other items, Kate Felmet has erected a sign calling her cat, Esme, a thief. A line next to the sign displays the latest from Esme's litteral haul so neighbors can come to claim their possessions. So much for the purrfect crime.
As for the good boys: Wasabi, a Pekingese pup, nabbed the famed Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club. "He can have a filet mignon," his proud owner said of the celebration.
- Just look at the fluff ball:
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Today's trivia question: Today is Flag Day. In 1977, which famous musician walked the line across the House floor to the spot where presidents deliver State of the Union addresses to read a poem about the holiday? Email your guess and a suggested question to me at bgriffiths@insider.com.
- Friday's answer: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip watched Maryland upset the then-14th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels on October 19, 1957. The Queen specifically requested seeing a college football game when she planned her first visit to the US as a monarch.
from Business Insider https://ift.tt/35lNaUZ
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