OnPolitics: Is Trump losing his endorsement appeal?
Mabinty Quarshie
Welcome back to another OnPolitics edition!
The House is back to arguing overs masks.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., traded insults Wednesday, after the GOP leader criticized the Capitol Physician’s decision to reinstate a mask mandate in the House amid a resurgence in COVID-19 cases.
While House members bickered, senators found common ground: Key senators hinted they're closer to a deal on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package that has been in the works for weeks, with a vote to move the legislation forward possibly occurring Wednesday evening.
It's Mabinty, with the news of the day.
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A Trump-backed candidate loses House race
The market value of Donald Trump's endorsement just took a hit.
A Trump-endorsed candidate lost Tuesday to a fellow Republican in a closely watched Texas congressional race, undermining Trump's claims that his endorsement is essential to a candidate's success and emboldening his political opponents ahead of the 2022 elections.
What does this mean? The victory by Texas state legislator Jake Ellzey makes Trump's endorsement look something like a new smartphone in a world of rapidly evolving technology, analysts said.
"You’d rather have it than nothing, but it’s becoming more obsolete by the day," said Republican strategist Liz Mair.
Trump remains popular among rank-and-file Republicans, and GOP candidates will continue to seek his endorsement, a political analyst said. But a nod from the ex-president does not appear to be an automatic ticket to victory for challengers.
The value of Trump's endorsement faces another test next week in Ohio, where he has backed one candidate in a crowded field for a U.S. House seat.
Real quick: Must-read stories from today
- Supreme Court approval dips with Democrats, Republicans equally unhappy, poll finds
- 'But does that translate into jobs?': States cut taxes, avoid rate hikes after Biden's COVID relief plan
- Buy American: Biden to increase the share of US-made parts for government purchases
- Caller left vicious voicemail as Fanone testified: 'I wish they would have killed all you scumbags'
Some not-so-good news for Rep. Mo Brooks
The Justice Department concluded late Tuesday that Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., did not warrant exclusion from a Capitol riot lawsuit that claims the congressman, former President Donald Trump, Trump's eldest son Donald Trump Jr., and personal attorney Rudy Giuliani helped instigate the deadly assault.
The Justice filing, in a lawsuit brought by Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., found Brooks failed to establish that he was acting "within the scope of his office" when he participated in a rally prior to the Capitol siege.
Swalwell filed the civil lawsuit against Trump, his namesake son, Giuliani and Brooks in March, arguing they were responsible for “a campaign of lies and incendiary rhetoric which led to the sacking of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”
Read more on the DOJ filing from USA TODAY's Kevin Johnson.
When in doubt, just be kind. — Mabinty