(White House Photo/Pete Souza)
–After missing a Jan. 31 deadline, Treasury could release its housing finance reform proposals as soon as Friday. They are expected to lay out a plan for slowly dismantling government-backed mortgage giants Fannie and Freddie, as well as offer a buffet of options for a diminished federal role in the market after that. The onus for action will then go to House Republicans.
–Some provisions of the Patriot Act that expire near the end of February failed a reauthorization vote in the House last night. The Republican leadership has a majority of members on board, but they expedited the vote and failed to see defections coming. It got 277 votes, just shy of the needed two-thirds threshold.
–Egypt protests continue unabated.
–The White House has its hands full with Omar Suleiman.
—Dick Lugar’s approach to reelection could be characterized as the opposite of what Orrin Hatch is doing.
–Ben Nelson, the Senate’s most endangered Democrat, hires a campaign manager.
–A quick look at PawlentyCare.
–Texas needs to find $27 billion in revenue to cover current spending for two years. Rick Perry’s budget would lay the state government low.
–Obama goes big on highspeed rail.
–Howard Gleckman wasn’t amused by his corporate tax code politicking.
–After all the panic and the congressional hearings and the mea culpas, the U.S. called in NASA engineers to determine the cause of those auto-accelerating sentient Toyotas of death. It was just the floor mats.
–And Jeff Goldberg busts out the chalk to prove Glenn Beck right once and for all.