To view past editions of The Hill’s 12:30 Report, click here: https://bit.ly/30ARS1U  

To receive The Hill’s 12:30 Report in your inbox, please sign up here: https://bit.ly/3qmIoS9 

 

–> A midday take on what’s happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.* 

*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically. 

 

The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Manchin’s magic ‘yes’ vote

 

NEWS THIS MORNING 

via GIPHY

 

Democrats watched their inboxes like … : 

Moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who has become the ~*~it vote~*~ for Democrats in their razor thin Senate majority, announced this morning that he will vote “yes” for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation.  

From Manchin’s statement: “Her wide array of experiences in varying sectors of our judicial system have provided Judge Jackson a unique perspective that will serve her well on our nation’s highest court.” Read Manchin’s full statement: https://bit.ly/3tDrDUu 

More on what Manchin’s ‘yes’ vote means: https://bit.ly/3ut970r

 

Happy Friday! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.
 

Did someone forward this to you? Want your own copy? Sign up here to receive The Hill’s 12:30 Report in your inbox daily: https://bit.ly/3qmIoS9  

 

ON CAPITOL HILL  

Her confirmation vote is looking more blue than purple each day: 

Via The Hill’s Jordain Carney, “Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is facing a shrinking pool of potential GOP supporters for her Supreme Court confirmation as Republicans harden their opposition.” https://bit.ly/36PAPwl  

The gist: Jackson didn’t have any major gaffes, but she also didn’t win over any Republicans.  

Should Democrats be concerned about her confirmation vote? Nah!: “Democrats can confirm Jackson without any Republican support if all 50 of their members are united and Vice President Harris breaks a tie. But they are hoping to peel off at least one GOP ‘yes’ vote.” https://bit.ly/36PAPwl  

For example, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is now a ‘no’ — here’s why: “McConnell pointed to several reasons for his opposition, including her sentencing decisions, questions about her judicial philosophy and Jackson’s decision not to take a position on expanding the Supreme Court. He also warned that she would engage in ‘judicial activism.’ ” https://bit.ly/3Ddjqti 

 

FIVE MEMORABLE MOMENTS FROM JACKSON’S CONFIRMATION HEARINGS:  

Via The Hill’s Rachel Scully: https://bit.ly/3uprfs9  

 

IN EUROPE  

More plans for the Poland stop: 

 

[[{“fid”:”254603″,”view_mode”:”wysiwyg”,”fields”:{“format”:”wysiwyg”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”President Joe Biden visits with members of the 82nd Airborne Division”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_url[und][0][value]”:””,”field_free_html[und][0][value]”:””,”field_free_html[und][0][format]”:”full_html”},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“1”:{“format”:”wysiwyg”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”President Joe Biden visits with members of the 82nd Airborne Division”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_url[und][0][value]”:””,”field_free_html[und][0][value]”:””,”field_free_html[und][0][format]”:”full_html”}},”attributes”:{“alt”:”President Joe Biden visits with members of the 82nd Airborne Division”,”height”:363,”width”:645,”class”:”media-element file-wysiwyg”,”data-delta”:”1″}}]]

 

Via The Hill’s Alex Gangitano, “President Biden will meet with Ukrainian refugees displaced by the Russian invasion and give a major address while in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday.” https://bit.ly/3iCIxMY  

Plus: “The president will also meet with American humanitarians who are in Poland trying to help feed and respond to the material needs of the refugee population, [national security adviser Jake Sullivan] said.”  

 

GETTING TRACTION  

Text messages live forever:  

CBS News’ Robert Costa and The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward dropped a bombshell report yesterday: https://cbsn.ws/3LiCSrp  

“Virginia Thomas, a conservative activist married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, repeatedly pressed White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in urgent text exchanges in the critical weeks following the vote, according to copies of the messages obtained by CBS News and The Washington Post.”  

Why this is significant: “Those messages … reveal an extraordinary pipeline between Virginia Thomas … and then-President Donald Trump‘s top aide during a period when Trump and his allies were vowing to go the Supreme Court in an effort to subvert the election results.”   

Keep in mind: The messages don’t directly mention Justice Thomas’s name.  

Read the full report: Here’s the link from CBS News: https://cbsn.ws/3LiCSrp. And the link from The Washington Post: https://wapo.st/3tCPpzX

 

IN UNRELATED NEWS ABOUT CLARENCE THOMAS, WHOSE GOOGLE ALERTS MUST BE EXPONENTIALLY HIGHER THAN NORMAL THIS WEEK:  

Via SCOTUSblog, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who has been hospitalized for the past week due to an infection, has been discharged. https://bit.ly/3qAne2M

 

LATEST WITH COVID-19  

Don’t forget about me!:

Former President Barack Obama, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and White House press secretary Jen Psaki have all recently contracted COVID-19.   

What to read into this: “While COVID-19 cases have declined in the Beltway since a massive wave in early January — a trend that mimics what other communities across the country are seeing — the cases among prominent politicos show the pandemic is still looming in the backdrop of official Washington and beyond. And a new Omicron variant known as BA.2 poses yet another threat to Americans with cases growing in parts of the northeast.”   

More on what this means, via The Hill’s Amie Parnes: https://bit.ly/381esEJ 

 

OP-ED — ‘TWO YEARS INTO THE PANDEMIC AND OUR HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE IS STILL SUFFERING’: 
Via Janice Blanchard and Guenevere Burke of The George Washington University: https://bit.ly/381i4qh  

 

CASE NUMBERS:   

Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 79,888,860

U.S. death toll: 975,862

Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y  

 

VACCINATION NUMBERS:  

Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 559 million shots have been given.  

Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 110,027 doses 

For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million. 

Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH  

 

NOTABLE TWEETS:  

If you haven’t seen the movie ‘CODA,’ you definitely should: 

The cast of “CODA” visited the White House. First lady Jill Biden tweeted a video of the visit. Watch: https://bit.ly/3uMudqX  

 

Today, I learned that Guantanamo Bay has a McDonald’s: 

The New York Times’s Carol Rosenberg tweeted, “The U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, honors the service of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, March 22, 2022.” Photo: https://bit.ly/3tDpaJI  

She added: “Here was a wider shot I took today, which was also approved for release.” Photo: https://bit.ly/3Nq47T8  

^ CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski noticed in the photo: “They lowered the Gitmo McDonalds flag.” https://bit.ly/37Qe8sa  

Here’s more information on the McDonald’s in Guantanamo Bay: https://bit.ly/3NlyQk5  

 

Hello, nice to meet you, Mr. President: 

CBS News’s Kathryn Watson tweeted, “Imagine that this is how you meet the president of the United States, while getting your hair cut.” Photo: https://bit.ly/3iEul65 

 

ON TAP:  

The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Poland. Vice President Harris is in Washington, D.C 

4:20 a.m. EDT: President Biden met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.  

4:30 a.m. EDT: President Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made a joint statement.  

6:55 a.m. EDT: President Biden left Belgium and flew to Poland.  

3 p.m. EDT: Vice President Harris meets with the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators.  

3 p.m. EDT Monday: The Senate meets next. The Senate’s Monday agenda: https://bit.ly/3urwszt  

 

WHAT TO WATCH:  

8 a.m. EDT: White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and national security advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3JKGPoA  

9:55 a.m. EDT: President Biden received a briefing on the humanitarian response to the Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3LiZuZ9  

 

IN LIGHTER NEWS:

[[{“fid”:”254605″,”view_mode”:”wysiwyg”,”fields”:{“format”:”wysiwyg”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”Waffles”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_url[und][0][value]”:”AP/Larry Crowe”,”field_free_html[und][0][value]”:””,”field_free_html[und][0][format]”:”full_html”},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“2”:{“format”:”wysiwyg”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”Waffles”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:false,”field_url[und][0][value]”:”AP/Larry Crowe”,”field_free_html[und][0][value]”:””,”field_free_html[und][0][format]”:”full_html”}},”attributes”:{“alt”:”Waffles”,”height”:363,”width”:645,”class”:”media-element file-wysiwyg”,”data-delta”:”2″}}]]

 

Today is International Waffle Day! 

 

And because you read this far, here’s a cat who is, once again, in a weird predicament: https://bit.ly/3Dd4AmJ