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–Robert Byrd, the longest serving congressman in U.S. history, died at 92 early Monday:
For more than a third of its 144-year existence, the state of West Virginia was represented in the U.S. Senate by one man: Robert C. Byrd. So encompassing was Byrd’s 50 years of service in the Senate and so encyclopedic
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REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
–Final language for financial reform is more or less done. The marathon 20-hour session that only wrapped up a few hours ago saw House and Senate negotiators run out of paper and conferees fall asleep at the table, but ultimately produced a product that (likely) has the support to make it to the president’s …
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–Obama and McChrystal are meeting face-to-face this morning and the administration’s full AfPak team will convene shortly thereafter.
–More consequential than any personnel decision is the overall direction of the war.
–McChrystal is reportedly telling administration officials he’s …
As has long been expected, Peter Orszag’s cowboy boots will not be walking the halls of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building after next month. He is stepping down, to get married and experience life as lived by those who do not spend all day every day on call. An administration official tells me that the White House has been …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–Ahead of this week’s G20 summit in Toronto and in wake of intensive lobbying efforts by Timothy Geithner, China has announced plans to allow its currency to float against the dollar. It’s widely viewed as a strategic concession, and the long-term impact of the decision is still largely …
YURI GRIPAS / AFP / Getty Images
–With the scale of the crisis still coming into focus, Obama has summoned BP bigwigs for a meeting.
–Barney Frank says the so-called “Volcker Rule” that would restrict proprietary trading at big banks will definitely be included in final financial reform legislation and that Democrats are …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–BP’s containment cap made some progress over the weekend.
–The administration’s not slapping any backs quite yet. They expect clean-up efforts to last at least through the fall. Thad Allen is on deck for today’s White House press briefing.
–Underestimating risk might be the theme …
From TIME’s Pentagon Correspondent Mark Thompson:
It seems BP’s oil well isn’t the only extended political headache for President Obama oozing in the gulf. Just before fleeing town for this week’s Memorial Day recess, the House voted against setting up a prison for Guantanamo detainees in the U.S.
The Obama Administration is seeking
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Washington Sketcher Dana Milbank has some harsh theater criticism for Larry Summers, as the White House’s awkward spokesman in chief. “On the one hand, Summers is a brilliant economist. On the other hand, Obama clearly needs somebody else to sell his economic message,” Milbank concludes.
Summers is someone who is always going to look …
President Barack Obama participates in a town hall meeting on health care insurance reform at Gallatin Field in Belgrade, Mont., Aug. 14, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)
–Obama departs on a two-day Midwest trip today with townhalls and business tours on the agenda. Jeff Zeleny writes it’s an effort to shore up …
I need say nothing else. From Time’s London Bureau Chief Catherine Mayer:
Who won the second of the televised debates between the three men battling to be Britain’s next Prime Minister? The current Labour PM Gordon Brown? His Conservative challenger David Cameron? The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, elevated by last week’s d
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Official White House photo by Pete Souza
–Marco Rubio is the subject of an IRS probe into whether alleged use of Republican party credit cards for personal expenses warrants criminal charges. A wider federal inquiry involving the U.S. attorney, FBI and IRS has been launched into the Florida GOP’s expenses. The latest wrinkle in …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–If Mitch McConnell raised the curtain on this season of financial reform political theater yesterday, then the White House serves as backdrop for the first act today. Obama is set to meet with Speaker Pelosi, Leader Reid, Senator McConnell, Rep. Boehner and Rep. Hoyer at the White House …
