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Pence to CPAC: Tell your communities America is back

Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Vice President Mike Pence hailed the accomplishments of the Trump administration and stressed the importance of the 2018 midterm elections to the conservative movement, while also railing against Democrats and the media for being out-of-touch with the American people.

One big quote: "The other side is motivated. They’re mobilized... Let this be the day we as a movement decided to deliver another victory for the American people in 2018... Tell [your communities] what they don’t hear in the media. Confidence is back, jobs are coming back… just tell them America is back."

The highlights:

  • On CPAC: "I’m here because I stand with President Trump. I'm here because we stand with the conservative movement. And come to think of it it, we always stand for our flag and our national anthem as well...2017 was the most consequential year in the history of the conservative movement."
  • On immigration: "President Trump promised to enforce our laws, secure our borders, and today, illegal crossings at our Southern border have been cut nearly in half. And make no mistake about it — we're going to build that wall."
  • On North Korea: "For all those in the media who think I should've stood and cheered with the North Koreans, I say: The United States of America doesn't stand with murderous dictatorships — we stand up to murderous dictatorships."
  • On Nancy Pelosi: "She keeps saying that $1,000 bonus for working Americans is nothing more than crumbs...I come from the JoS. A. Bank wing of the West Wing. When our kids were little, we had a term for another $1,000 in our paycheck at the end of the year. Christmas."

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CIA Director Gina Haspel. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

CIA Director Gina Haspel threatened to resign in early December after President Trump cooked up a hasty plan to install loyalist Kash Patel, a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), as her deputy, according to three senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

Why it matters: The revelation stunned national security officials and almost blew up the leadership of the world's most powerful spy agency. Only a series of coincidences — and last minute interventions from Vice President Mike Pence and White House counsel Pat Cipollone — stopped it.

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Coronavirus dashboard

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  1. Health: Coronavirus deaths reach 4,000 per day as hospitals remain in crisis mode — CDC warns highly transmissible coronavirus variant could become dominant in U.S. in March.
  2. Politics: Biden says, "We will manage the hell out of" vaccine distribution — Biden taps ex-FDA chief to lead Operation Warp Speed amid rollout of COVID plan — Widow of GOP congressman-elect who died of COVID-19 will run to fill his seat.
  3. Vaccine: Battling Black mistrust of the vaccines — "Pharmacy deserts" could become vaccine deserts — Instacart to give $25 to shoppers who get vaccine.
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John Weaver, Lincoln Project co-founder, acknowledges “inappropriate” messages

John Weaver aboard John McCain's campaign plane in February 2000. Photo: Robert Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

John Weaver, a veteran Republican operative who co-founded the Lincoln Project, declared in a statement to Axios on Friday that he sent “inappropriate,” sexually charged messages to multiple men.

  • “To the men I made uncomfortable through my messages that I viewed as consensual mutual conversations at the time: I am truly sorry. They were inappropriate and it was because of my failings that this discomfort was brought on you,” Weaver said.
  • “The truth is that I'm gay,” he added. “And that I have a wife and two kids who I love. My inability to reconcile those two truths has led to this agonizing place.”
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