memeorandum: BREAKING: Did McConnell just win the debt-ceiling standoff? (Ed Morrissey/HotAir)

7:35 PM ET, December 7, 2021

Top Items:

Emily Flitter / New York Times:

President Biden's pick for a key banking regulator backs out. — Saule Omarova, a Cornell Law School professor whom critics painted as a communist after President Biden picked her for a key banking regulator job, is withdrawing from consideration for the post.

Discussion: NBC News, Washington Free Beacon, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, New York Post and The Washington Current, more at Techmeme »

Washington Post:

Saule Omarova, Biden's pick for top bank regulator, withdraws nomination — Saule Omarova, President Biden's pick to serve as a top banking regulator, has withdrawn her nomination for the office of the Comptroller of the Currency. — The Cornell University law professor …

Discussion: Politico, Breitbart, Talking Points Memo, The Federalist and The Daily Caller

Andrew Ackerman / Wall Street Journal:
Saule Omarova, Biden's Nominee to Oversee National Banks, Withdraws

Discussion: CNN and NPR

Zachary Halaschak / Washington Examiner:
Controversial Biden banking nominee drops out of contention after bruising hearing

Discussion: Washington Times

CNN:

Mark Meadows to halt cooperation with January 6 committee — (CNN)Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows will no longer cooperate with the House select committee investigating January 6 insurrection, according to a letter from his attorney to the panel, which was obtained by CNN on Tuesday.

Discussion: Bipartisan Report, NBC News, Politico, CBS News, The Daily Wire, POLITICUSUSA, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, The Hill and Talking Points Memo

CNN:

Read: Mark Meadows' letter to January 6 committee — By CNN — (CNN)Former Donald Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows will no longer cooperate with the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol Hill riot, according to a letter obtained by CNN from his attorney to the panel.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Select Committee …, Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, POLITICUSUSA, National Review, Raw Story, Insider, Washington Post, USA Today, YouTube and IJR

Real America's Voice News: One Of The Most Anticipated And Talked About Books Of The Year Is On Store Shelves This Morning

CNN:
Exclusive: January 6 committee casts a wide net with over 100 subpoenas for phone records

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Hill, New York Times, Bloomberg, Insider, Roll Call, Washington Times, One America News Network, Washington Post, UPI and NPR

Tara Copp / Defense One:

Austin Rejects ‘Red Lines’ for Taiwan, Ukraine — As crises loom, defense secretary reveals a bit of his diplomacy-first thinking. — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who served as a general during several Middle East wars, is used to the military charting the U.S. path in conflict zones.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Fox News, Politico, reviewsmovie’s Newsletter, WTOP News, The White House and Washington Post

CNN:
Biden administration considering options for possibly evacuating US citizens from Ukraine if Russia invades

Discussion: New York Post, Mediaite, The National Interest, The Daily Wire, Washington Examiner, Defense One, Twitchy and Townhall

The White House:
Readout of President Biden's Video Call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia

Discussion: Politico, Fox News, NPR, Associated Press, Bipartisan Report, HuffPost, Mediaite, Forbes and The Daily Wire

Bloomberg:
U.S. Wants Nord Stream 2 Halted If Putin Invaded Ukraine

Discussion: New York Post, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, Politico and The Daily Wire

New York Times:
Biden Warns Putin of Economic Consequences if Aggression Continues

Meridith McGraw / Politico:

Meadows: Trump considered yanking Kavanaugh over ‘I like beer’ comments and apologetic tone — During Brett Kavanaugh's controversial 2018 Supreme Court confirmation hearings, President Donald Trump “strongly considered” dropping the nominee and instead going with a “stronger candidate,” …

Discussion: Insider, Washington Post, Raw Story, The Hill, IJR and Political Wire

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Meet the reporter who always seems to get a copy of the hottest tell-all Trump book first.

more at Mediagazer »

Fox News:
Former WH chief of staff Mark Meadows will cease cooperation with Jan. 6 committee

Discussion: Associated Press, Politico, Axios, Trending Politics, Zandar Versus The Stupid, New York Post, Mediaite, Rolling Stone, Human Events, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, The Guardian and Mock Paper Scissors

Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times:

So you think Kamala Harris has it rough. Remember Dan Quayle? — Kamala Harris can't catch a break. — When she's not being ignored — which is much of the time — the vice president is portrayed as inept, impossible to work for or depicted as an anchor weighing down the listing Biden administration.

Eugene Daniels / Politico: ‘Her failing is not an option’ — Harris convenes Black women and charts the path ahead

Charlotte Clymer / Charlotte's Web Thoughts:
The Media Coverage of Kamala Harris and Bluetooth is Ridiculous

Discussion: Cybersect and The Daily Beast

Anthony Farris / OutKick:

Don Lemon Tipped Off Jussie Smollett That Police Didn't Believe His Attack Story … Everybody's favorite CNN anchor Don Lemon doesn't just report the liberal news, he apparently also spends time working as a “tipster” — at least for friends of his who commit crimes.

Discussion: Fox News, RedState and Todd Starnes

Lee Brown / New York Post:
CNN's Don Lemon blasted for not mentioning his own key role in Jussie Smollett drama

Discussion: HotAir, Fox News, The Western Journal, TheBlaze, Washington Examiner, Washington Free Beacon, BizPac Review and Newsbusters

Daily Mail:
Jussie Smollett reveals CNN's Don Lemon warned him via text in 2019 that cops didn't believe his account of attack: Host is accused of unethical behavior …

Discussion: RedState, Breitbart, Newsbusters and The Daily Caller

Ed Morrissey / HotAir:

BREAKING: Did McConnell just win the debt-ceiling standoff? — It depends on whether the Senate Minority Leader can deliver — and whether anyone sees debt increases as a “win.” Suffice it to say that Mitch McConnell appeared to get what he needed out of the inevitable.

Discussion: Politico, Breitbart and New York Post

Politico:
McConnell secures GOP support for new debt strategy

Discussion: The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Breitbart, UPI, Speaking Security, Agence France-Presse, The Daily Wire, National Review, The Last Refuge, Insider, CNN, TheBlaze, Washington Times, Roll Call, CNBC and Bloomberg

Alison Durkee / Forbes:

Wisconsin Conservative Group Finds ‘No Evidence Of Widespread Fraud’ In 2020 Election — A 10-month-long review of Wisconsin's 2020 election conducted by a conservative group in the state found no signs of widespread or significant election fraud, according to a new report of its findings …

Discussion: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Exclusive: WSJ taps Biden, Trump pollsters for 2022 — The Wall Street Journal and its parent company Dow Jones are making big changes to its polling strategy ahead of the midterms, executives tell Axios. — Why it matters: The company had partnered with NBC News for the past three decades on polling.

Discussion: Insider and The Hill

Aaron Zitner / Wall Street Journal:
Voters Pessimistic About Economy, Biden's Leadership, WSJ Poll Finds

Discussion: tippinsights, RedState, Boston Herald, NRCC, HotAir, Russell’s Newsletter, Political Wire and KVEO-TV

Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:

Chris Cuomo Will Not Receive Severance, CNN President Says — Star anchor was fired on Saturday after probe into his involvement in Andrew Cuomo's defense — CNN President Jeff Zucker told employees in a meeting Tuesday that the network won't pay anchor Chris Cuomo a severance after firing …

Discussion: CNBC, New York Post, The Daily Wire, Deadline and IJR, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:
Chris Cuomo Book Pulled by Harper Collins

Discussion: HotAir, Mediaite, Boston.com, Forbes, IJR, Insider, Twitchy and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »

Dan Froomkin / Press Watch:

‘I think we need to rethink entirely how we do things,’ says Dana Milbank of the Washington Post — Longtime Washington Post political journalist Dana Milbank on Friday accused his colleagues of being “accessories to the murder of democracy.” — Milbank wrote in his biweekly opinion column:

Discussion: Mediaite, National Review, Public Notice and Wall Street Journal

Teo Armus / Washington Post:

Charlottesville's Robert E. Lee statue will be melted down by city's African American history museum — The statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that once provoked a deadly weekend of violence in Charlottesville will soon be melted down and turned into a new piece of public artwork …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Political Wire

Eduardo Medina / New York Times:
Charlottesville's Statue of Robert E. Lee Will Be Melted Down

Discussion: CBS News, The Hill and NPR

D. Patrick Rodgers / Nashville Scene:

Nathan Bedford Forrest Has Fallen — A widely mocked Nashville statue of the early KKK leader was removed Tuesday morning — The Confederacy has fallen. Again. — A notorious statue of Confederate general and early KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest that has stood beside I-65 …

Nick Beres / WTVF-TV:
Nathan Bedford Forrest statue along I-65 removed after more than 2 decades

Discussion: The Hill, WKRN-TV and The Tennessean

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Yamiche Alcindor Joins NBC News as Washington Correspondent (EXCLUSIVE) … Alcindor, who is expected to start with NBC in March, will cover the Biden administration as well as the impact of federal policies on communities across the country and issues at the intersection of race …

Discussion: RedState, The Root, Deadline, The Hill, TVNewser, Hollywood Reporter and Twitchy, more at Mediagazer »

Tim Alberta / The Atlantic:

He Voted to Impeach. Can He Survive in the GOP? — Late at night on the second Tuesday of January, Peter Meijer, a 33-year-old freshman congressman from West Michigan, paced the half-unpacked rooms of his new rental apartment in Washington, D.C., dreading the decision he would soon have to make.

Discussion: Overtime, Raw Story and The Hill

Politico: POLITICO Playbook PM: Jan. 6 committee dealt two big blows

ITV News:

Downing Street staff shown joking in leaked recording about Christmas party they later denied — Senior Downing Street staff joked about holding a Christmas party in Number 10 just four days after the event is alleged to have taken place last December, a recording leaked to ITV News has revealed.

Discussion: Insider, The Guardian, Politico and The Times

Julian Mark / Washington Post:

In new podcast interview, Kyle Rittenhouse says traveling to Kenosha was ‘not the best idea’ — About 24 minutes into the podcast “You Are Here” on the right-wing network the Blaze on Monday night, co-host Sydney Watson told her guest, Kyle Rittenhouse, that it was “kind of impressive” that …

Discussion: YouTube, The American Conservative, Rolling Stone, The Gateway Pundit, The Western Journal and Raw Story

Karol Markowicz / Fox News:

I am leaving New York City for Florida. I never thought I would — I was raised in Brooklyn, my husband in Queens. Our three children were born in Manhattan — Parents should ‘speak up on behalf of their kids’: Karol Markowicz — I always hated the “Goodbye, New York” genre of writing.

Chauncey DeVega / Salon:

Hillary Clinton was right about the “deplorables” — and about the end of Roe v. Wade — Still hate Hillary's guts? Fine. But let's admit that she saw all this coming — and way before the rise of Trump — During her 2016 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton warned us that Donald Trump and his …

Discussion: The Left Place