• The 118th Congress is gathering in Washington and GOP minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is struggling to get the votes to become speaker.
• McCarthy has made several concessions to far-right House members, but they still won’t back him.
• Republican representative-elect George Santos of New York is facing fraud charges and his vote for speaker is crucial.
• The Democratic-controlled Senate is confirming judges and rebalancing the Supreme Court, while the Biden administration will be traveling around the country to highlight the laws passed in the last two years.
• The January 6th committee’s transcripts revealed an email from rally organizer Katrina Pierson showing that Trump’s invitation to supporters to march on the Capitol was part of the plan, and Hope Hicks and Ivanka Trump’s chief of staff Julie Radford exchanged horrified texts after the riot.
Published January 2, 2023. Visit Letters from An American to read Heather Cox Richardson’s original post.