MOScout Daily Update: Budget Week in Senate - MedEx Blow-up? - Messenger on Schmitt Suit - Will Sheena Speak? and more...
Three Weeks Left…
The Senate week is expected to be dominated by the budget.
· The big question looming is how Medicaid expansion will be handled. Will Democrats launch a ferocious filibuster to attempt to reinsert it? That would certainly play to their base, and MOScout polling shows they have the backing of Missouri voters for such an effort. But both sides seem to agree that this matter will ultimately be settled by the courts, so does that sap their motivation to go to the mattresses?
· On Senate side adult worries the week could produce an eruption or two. “The Senate use to be a place where compromise could be reached but when there’s a faction that goes to social media to tattle on colleagues how could it be anything but a week of frustration.”
· Also the Post-Dispatch reports that Sen. Denny Hoskins’ gaming legislation could come up today. This has been a controversial topic, with some senators wanted to wipe away all the “gray machines.” What It Means: This issue is just one of several “landmines” in the Senate where a lack of compromise could create hard feelings among various factions.
On the House side, it’s expected that they’ll continue to chug through House bills, but we could start to see a transition to work on Senate bills.
· One Senate bill on House 3rd Read Calendar is Sen. Bill Eigel’s public safety bill. It’s a topic the House has already spent a fair amount of time debating. What It Means: Moving a Senate bill could help ease tensions between the chambers. This is the time of years where both sides are eyeballing each other wondering why they’re not working on their stuff.
US Senate Watch
· Tipster: Both Congressmen Billy Long and Jason Smith were in attendance at the Pulaski County Lincoln Day over the weekend. Pulaski County isn’t in either of their congressional districts… What It Means: Both these congressmen are very much still in the mix for a potential Senate run.
· Politicos still wonder if we’ll see Sheena Greitens make her mark on this race. There had been rumors that she’d be giving an interview, presumably revealing some dishonorable behavior from his past. So far, that hasn’t happened. One observer thinks she’ll speak publicly about him… “The only question is if she does it soon enough to stop his momentum. If she waits, he can survive. If it’s soon I think it’s over for him.”
· Also worth noting: Greitens’ bio on his webpage doesn’t mention that he’s a father or even acknowledge his children.
Messenger on Schmitt’s Suit
Tony Messenger Attorney General Eric Schmitt for his role in perpetuating President Donald Trump’s lie that he won re-election – and for hiding his role.
· It was Dec. 8 at 6:11 p.m., and one of Schmitt’s top aides, Solicitor General John Sauer, was sending an email to dozens of Republican attorneys general or their staff members throughout the country asking them to sign off on an amicus brief supporting the lawsuit filed by the state of Texas challenging the election results in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin.
· In short order, the U.S. Supreme Court would dismiss the lawsuit as having no merit.
· It was the Texas lawsuit, and the amicus brief, eventually signed on to by 21 other states, that gave rise to members of Congress, including Sen. Josh Hawley, the Missouri Republican, announcing their intentions to further challenge the election results on the fateful day when the insurrectionists stormed the Capitol.
· I asked Schmitt’s office why it didn’t provide the Sauer emails…. A spokesman said in an email that the attorney general’s office “closed certain records.”
· The existence of the Missouri records in other states’ responses to document requests raises two uncomfortable questions for Schmitt, who, like his predecessor Hawley did, is using the high profile of the office to run for the U.S. Senate: How much responsibility should he bear for planting the seeds of insurrection, and why is he covering up his role?
Start of the Delayed Census Roll Out
AP reports we’ll see apportionment numbers today.
The Census Bureau says it will be releasing the numbers used for determining how many congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state gets on Monday. The release of the apportionment numbers Monday afternoon comes almost four months later than planned because of delays caused by the pandemic and anomalies discovered in the data as the numbers were being crunched. The numbers are state population counts that show how many residents each state has gained or lost over the past decade. The 435 seats in the House of Representatives are divided among the states based on population…
Coming Tomorrow…
Rally To Save Missouri Healthcare
April 27th, 2021
1:30pm-3pm
Outside Missouri Capitol Building
On Tuesday, Missourians will rally alongside advocates for Medicaid expansion to voice support for fully funding Medicaid.
Speakers: Legislators from the House and Senate, healthcare advocates, and Missourians sharing their stories about healthcare in our state.
KGUR Reporter Slain
KCUR reports on the tragic death of a reporter.
Aviva Okeson-Haberman, an accomplished KCUR reporter known for her thoughtful, aggressive and compassionate reporting, has died after suffering a gunshot wound in her Kansas City apartment. She was 24.
The killing appeared to be the result of a bullet that pierced one of the windows of her first-floor apartment in the Santa Fe neighborhood. She was discovered there in the 2900 block of Lockridge Avenue on Friday afternoon by a colleague who had gone to check on her after she’d failed to respond to messages throughout the day.
She was an especially beloved friend and colleague just beginning what promised to be a brilliant career. We, at KCUR, join her family and friends in mourning her passing…
Aviva had already demonstrated outstanding reporting skills. She joined KCUR in June 2019 as the Missouri politics and government reporter, having interned at the station a year earlier and impressed the newsroom with her work ethic, diligence, conscientiousness and eagerness to learn. Above all, she was sweet, kind and gracious, giving little hint of the strength of purpose that made her such a skilled and tough reporter…
Murphy Trophy Cabinet Grows
Jamey Murphy, chief of staff to Sen. Paul Wieland, was awarded the St. Louis County Republican of the Year over the weekend.
Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe was on-hand to help with the ceremony, tweeting that Murphy is “the youngest to ever win the award!”
eMailbag on Parson Dierges Photo
· Amateur hour. I can’t believe they invited her.
· I guarantee Parson didn’t know who she was but that is why you hire staff.
eMailbag on MedEx
· While your estimation of the Senate votes for Medicaid expansion funding looks pretty good, the most important number may be how many votes can leadership get for a PQ to move a budget bill without Medicaid funding before May 7? The House move to keep expansion money out of the budget may end up killing many other bills and it's highly likely the courts will force the funding to happen anyway.
Lobbyists Registrations
Jean Evans added Vincere Health.
Joshua Klarich added Fair Maps Missouri.
Garrett Webb added Independence Power & Light, City of Arnold, County of Jefferson, and Cole County.
Birthdays
Happy birthday to Caleb Arthur.