Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Quite a day: “The warm Brett Kavanaugh who appeared in a Fox News interview to defend himself on Monday is gone. A defiant and outraged Kavanaugh — who became emotional — began his opening statement to senators Thursday by trashing Democrats and calling the process a ‘national disgrace.’”
* Tomorrow will also be quite a day: “Sen Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, told reporters during the last hearing break that he’s ready to vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination in committee on Friday.”
* Next week: “President Donald Trump is putting off a meeting with Rod Rosenstein about the deputy attorney general’s future until next week due to the ongoing Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.”
* A big SEC case: “Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for fraud, according to court documents filed Thursday. Sources close to the company told CNBC the company was also expecting to be sued, though Tesla was not named as a defendant in the complaint.”
* A dubious strategy: “President Donald Trump still seems to believe he can solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — and that cutting off aid to millions of refugees is a great way to jump-start the process.”
* The future of the Office of Children’s Health Protection: “A top EPA official just put on administrative leave said the Trump administration was trying to ‘disappear’ her office dedicated to children’s health, according to an email obtained by BuzzFeed News.”
* Sen. Jeff Merkley’s (D-Ore.) gambit: “A Democratic senator is suing the Trump administration and Republican senators in a last-ditch attempt to stop a Senate vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh — one that has nothing to do with the sexual misconduct allegations currently dogging the nominee.” * Election-year symbolism: “House Republicans passed a symbolic resolution Wednesday against granting undocumented immigrants the right to vote. The measure, essentially a protest against a handful of cities that sought to permit undocumented immigrants to vote in certain local elections, could give House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) a degree of cover with immigration hard-liners within his caucus.” * The kind of thing Republican policymakers used to say they cared about: “The federal government could soon pay more in interest on its debt than it spends on the military, Medicaid or children’s programs. The run-up in borrowing costs is a one-two punch brought on by the need to finance a fast-growing budget deficit, worsened by tax cuts and steadily rising interest rates that will make the debt more expensive.” Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
