If it’s TUESDAY… Justice Department asks appeals court to block judge’s ruling that imperils access to abortion pill… Ousted Tennessee lawmaker Justin Jones gets reinstated to office… President Biden departs for trip to Northern Ireland and Ireland… Gang of 8 gets access to classified Biden/Trump documents, NBC’s Ryan Nobles confirms… Nikki Haley makes her case in Iowa… And new KY-GOV ad ties GOPer Daniel Cameron to Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg.
But FIRST… Another day, another mass shooting in America.
Yet what makes Monday’s shooting in Louisville, Ky., different — which killed at least five people and wounded another nine — is that prominent politicians knew the victims.
“This is awful,” said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. “I have a very close friend that didn’t make it tonight. And I have another close friend who did not, either, and one who’s at the hospital but I hope is going to make it through.”
Beshear commented further on one of the victims. “Tommy Elliott helped me build my law career, helped me become governor, gave me advice on being a good dad,” he said, per the New York Times. “He’s one of the people I talk to most in the world, and very rarely were we talking about my job. He was an incredible friend.”
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., also was a friend of Elliot’s.
“My friend Tommy Elliott was killed today in Louisville. He was my banker for many years. This news is very shocking and sad for Ann and me. He did so much in the Louisville community, and we pray for his family during this awful time,” Scott tweeted, per NBC’s Frank Thorp.
And this comes after Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee revealed that he and his wife were friends to victims of the recent Nashville shooting.
This isn’t the first time, of course, that high-ranking politicians have been personally affected by mass shootings. Remember when then-Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., was critically injured at a constituent event 12 years ago? Or when Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise was seriously injured at the GOP’s Congressional Baseball Game practice nearly six years ago?
Still, mass shootings have persisted. And now we’re getting to the point where politicians now know the victims of shootings at schools and banks — not just at political events.
Closely.
Ultimately, massacred first-graders didn’t bring our politically divided nation closer together on what to do about gun violence.
Neither did killed church-goers. Or country-concert attendees.
But what happens when politicians — both Democrats and Republicans — start knowing the victims?
Quote of the day: "I plan on running"
“I plan on running, Al, but we’re not prepared to announce it yet.” – President Joe Biden to NBC’s Al Roker on Monday.
Data Download: The number of the day is ... 4
The number of days between when the GOP-controlled Tennessee House expelled Democratic state Rep. Justin Jones for breaking House rules during a protest about gun violence and when the Nashville Metropolitan Council voted to reinstate him until a special election.
Jones was sworn in Monday night after the council’s vote. Justin J. Pearson, the other state representative expelled last week for protesting, could be reappointed as soon as Wednesday, when Shelby County’s Board of Commissioners chooses how to temporarily fill Pearson’s seat.
Both men will also be seeking re-election in special elections later this year.
Other numbers you need to know today
200: The number of biopharmaceutical groups and drugmakers that signed a letter criticizing Texas federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk over his decision last week banning the abortion pill mifepristone.
40,000: Up to how many rockets Egypt said it would supply Russia with in a secret move meant to “avoid problems with the West,” according to classified files posted on the internet, per The Washington Post.
$5 billion: The price tag of a new White House initiative to accelerate new Covid treatments, per The Washington Post.
At least 3: The number of promoted tweets on Twitter that the company failed to label as political ads, Politico reports.
$124 million: The value, per year, of a new corporate and individual state income tax cut signed into law by Arkansas GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Eyes on 2024: Nikki Haley makes her case
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is back in Iowa this week to make her case to GOP voters that she’s the best choice to take on President Joe Biden.
She kicked off her visit Monday in northwest Iowa, campaigning with GOP Rep. Randy Feenstra, per the Sioux City Journal. And she argued that she’s the most electable candidate, telling the crowd that Republicans should be “looking at who can win a general” election or else they’ll risk re-electing Biden, per Real Clear Politics.
Haley’s Iowa swing, which includes a trip to Des Moines later this week, comes as Haley’s team is attempting to draw a contrast with former President Donald Trump following his arraignment last week in a hush money probe.
Like other GOP presidential hopefuls, Haley has criticized Trump’s indictment as politically motivated. But her campaign also warned that a Trump candidacy will be plagued by “drama,” according to a memo from Haley’s campaign manager Betsy Ankney that Axios obtained.
“Donald Trump had a pretty good Q1, if you count being indicted as ‘good,’” Ankney wrote, referring to the first quarter fundraising period.
“Still, it’s increasingly clear that Trump’s candidacy is more consumed by the grievances of the past and the promise of more drama in the future, rather than a forward-looking vision for the American people,” she later added.
In other campaign news…
Trump online: Trump’s campaign ramped up spending on digital ads ahead of his recent indictment, and he’s outspending Haley and DeSantis on digital platforms, per Axios.
What’s next on the Florida docket? The New York Times reports that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is backing a state legislative push for tougher immigration policies.
An appeal to a higher power: Trump is appealing a federal court decision that ordered his former vice president, Mike Pence, to testify in the special counsel’s investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
McCormick watch: Responding to Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey’s decision to run for re-election, Republican Dave McCormick, who is considering a Senate bid himself, released a statement panning Casey as “a vote for Biden and Schumer” and criticizing him on immigration, energy, crime and border policy.
Republicans readying for Senate primaries: CNN reports that the Senate GOP campaign arm is taking a “more hands-on approach to primaries,” as the party tries to balance Trump’s influence and leadership’s push for candidates who won’t jeopardize the party’s general election chances.
His heart is in Ohio: NBC News’ Henry Gomez reports that Republican businessman Bernie Moreno has filed paperwork for another Ohio Senate bid, this time against Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, and will make a formal announcement next week.
Thinking about it: Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig is considering running for Senate, per the Detroit News. Craig was considered a frontrunner in last year’s GOP gubernatorial primary, but he failed to make the ballot due to forged signatures on his petitions.
On the airwaves: Commonwealth PAC, a super PAC aligned with Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Kelly Craft, is up with a new TV ad tying state Attorney General Daniel Cameron to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg ahead of next month’s GOP primary, per AdImpact.
She’s running: Former GOP Rep. Yvette Herrell announced Monday at an event featuring Speaker Kevin McCarthy that she is running for her old New Mexico House seat.
ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world?
Biden signed a bill Monday ending the Covid national emergency.
The State Department has officially labeled Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as wrongfully detained, unlocking more resources to help secure his release.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg criticized the House Judiciary Committee after Republicans announced they would host a field hearing in New York City on crime.
A woman at the center of an anti-vaccine conspiracy theory spoke to NBC News’ Brandy Zadrozny about what her life has been like since she became the center of a false theory.
