News You Need to Know

Friday, February 27, 2015

by Manu Raju, Burgess Everett

POLITICO

He only controls 46 seats, but Harry Reid is acting like he has 60. Reid’s uncompromising posture during the flap over homeland security funding and his emerging plans for an upcoming fight over immigration make clear he’s doing little to change the hardball style that defined his tenure as majority leader. This despite losing control of the chamber after last fall’s Democratic debacle and tamping down a coup among centrists seeking his ouster.

What the DHS Standoff Reveals About the GOP Demographic Dilemma

by Amy Walter

The Cook Political Report

Although the congressional standoff over the Department of Homeland Security is being framed as a debate over national security, it is, at its core, the latest example of the GOP divide over how to tackle immigration reform. For a party that is already facing demographic challenges and shrinking Electoral College opportunities, the inability to come to agreement on immigration could have devastating consequences for 2016.

Loretta Lynch One Step Closer To Attorney General

by Carrie Johnson

NPR

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Loretta Lynch's nomination to be the next U.S. Attorney General on Thursday. Next stop: a full Senate vote on confirmation.

GOP’s 2016 hopefuls test their messages on conservative activists

by Robert Costa, Matea Gold, Jose DelReal

The Washington Post

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, seeking to sustain his momentum in the early race for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, made a muscular appeal Thursday to the party’s conservative base — touting his blue-collar roots and casting himself as a leader tough enough to take on the world’s biggest challenges.

The Evolution of Chris Christie

by John Dickerson

Slate

Two years ago Chris Christie wasn’t invited to address the Conservative Political Action Conference. The New Jersey governor was considered too moderate and a member of the Republican establishment. This year he addressed the gathering of conservative activists and raised his profile by attacking the establishment candidate. “If the elites in Washington who make backroom deals decide who the next president is going to be, then he’s definitely going to be the front-runner,” Christie said, referring to Jeb Bush.