Boebert to switch districts for 2024

Colorado GOP asks U.S. Supreme Court to keep Trump on ballot

Also in today’s ‘Regular Order’ for December 28, 2023:

• No instant changes from U.S.-Mexico border meeting.

• GOP still fishing for something on Biden.

• Florida Democrat faces new ethics probe.

• Next newsletter will be on Tuesday, January 2, 2024.

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SWITCH. Facing a rematch with a well-funded Democrat after winning by just 546 votes in 2022, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) produced a campaign surprise last night - announcing that she would switch districts in her home state of Colorado, and run for election in an area of the state which is more favorable to Republicans.

• BOEBERT. "It's the right move for me personally, and it's the right decision for those who support our conservative movement," said Boebert in a video statement. She will now run for the seat occupied by Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), who is not running for reelection in 2024.

• PERSONAL. As she announced her plans, Boebert made reference to some of her recent personal troubles. "I've never been in politics before and I've never been through a divorce,” Boebert said. “I've made my own personal mistakes and have owned up and apologized for them.”

• GEOGRAPHY. Boebert will basically go from a district covering the western third of the state to a district which is basically the eastern third of Colorado. Donald Trump won both areas in 2020 - but his margin was much larger in this new district for Boebert.

• BOTTOM LINE. Boebert obviously thought she was going to lose next year. We’ll see if this gambit works. The GOP primary is in June.

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DEMS. As you might expect, Democrats were not cutting Boebert any slack last night, calling her a carpetbagger and more. "She's a loser in CD3, and she'll be a loser in CD4," said Colorado Democratic Party state chair Shad Murib. "Coloradans won't buy her bullshit in 2024."

• FRITSCH. Boebert's departure could well make Democrat Adam Fritsch the favorite for her current seat in Congress. He's already raised over $7 million - so while Boebert won’t be around for him to challenge, the GOP will be way behind when it comes to money for that campaign.

• BUCKED. As for the situation in the open Fourth District, no strong Democrat has emerged - so Boebert's name recognition and ability to raise money certainly gives her an edge. But losing her current seat and then getting elected to Buck's seat is still a net of minus-one for the GOP.

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BALLOT. Colorado Republicans have gone to the U.S. Supreme Court, trying to reverse a ruling that barred former President Donald Trump from that state's GOP primary ballot. "The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision is wrong for a host of reasons," said lawyers for the Colorado Republican State Central Committee.

• STATE GOP. "The Colorado Supreme Court’s unprecedented decision violates the Colorado Republican Party’s First Amendment associational right to place the political candidates of its choice on both the primary and general electoral ballots," the state GOP told the Justices.

• TRUMP LEGAL. This Colorado GOP appeal is separate from one which is expected by Trump's own lawyers. It's possible the U.S. Supreme Court could decide to hear arguments on the matter later this term - which would mean a final ruling by late June - squarely in the middle of the race for President.

• TRUMP. In an interview last night on the conservative Just The News network, Trump teed off on the Colorado justices. "Nobody can understand why they did that," Trump said of the ruling that he had engaged in insurrection on Jan. 6 - and was ineligible for the ballot under the Fourteenth Amendment.

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REGULAR ORDER. It’s not too late to give someone the gift of straight news by buying them a subscription to ‘Regular Order.’ You can also support independent news on Capitol Hill in the process. If you want to do something else, you can always buy me a shot of whiskey, a cold beer, or a cup of coffee.

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BORDER. A high-level meeting in Mexico City between top Biden Administration officials and the President of Mexico on Wednesday brought no immediate announcements on how the two nations might deal with a continued surge in migrants across the U.S. border.

• DHS. "We had a very productive meeting," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said after the conference. "The regional challenge of migration requires regional solutions, and we appreciate Mexico’s commitment to continue its efforts alongside us and with others."

• EL PRESIDENTE. In a Wednesday news conference, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he would rather see the U.S. invest in troubled areas of Central America to promote economic and political stability. "When there is an economic or political crisis, the migratory flow increases," he said.

• INVESTMENTS. López Obrador singled out ideas like "Sembrando Vida" and "Jóvenes Construyendo el Futuro" - programs designed to help young people in countries like Honduras and Guatemala build a future which would dissuade them from trying to make the dangerous trip to cross the border.

TRIVIA. I learn stuff every day. In checking on the immigration meetings, I found out that the Mexican President has a news conference every single weekday at 7 am. Yep, every Monday-Friday. Sometimes the mañaneras (roughly translated to morning briefings) go on for over two hours.

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BIDEN PROBE. Republicans have yet to unearth any smoking gun in the investigation of President Biden and his son Hunter, as GOP lawmakers have repeatedly trotted out weak allegations. Wednesday brought another example of how Republicans are still searching for something to pin on the President.

• SUBPOENA. Republicans asked the White House Counsel if Biden the Father had counseled Hunter Biden to *not* show up for a closed door deposition before a House committee. "Such conduct could constitute an impeachable offense," Republicans said ominously.

• CHARGE. Think about that for a second. Even though Republicans have no evidence to suggest the President was somehow interfering in their probe - they were basically making that accusation.

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ETHICS. The House Ethics Committee announced Wednesday that it is opening an investigation into Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), centered on questions about possible campaign finance law violations involving her original run for Congress in 2022, when she won a special election to fill a vacant House seat.

• NEWS. In a statement, the committee said the probe would focus on several questions - campaign finance violations, improper disclosure filings with the House; and whether she accepted 'voluntary services for official work from an individual not employed in her congressional office.'

• DEETS. No specifics were released by the committee on the reasons for the investigation, but there were news reports in 2022 that Cherfilus-McCormick had used official office money to fund television ads in her district.

• BIPARTISAN. The panel noted that the committee had voted ‘unanimously’ for the investigation. That means all Democrats joined in approving the probe.

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REAR VIEW MIRROR. Hopefully, this will be my final newsletter for 2023 - what a crazy year this has been on Capitol Hill. It started with the wild election for Speaker of the House, saw the historic ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, followed by an unprecedented GOP impasse before the election of new Speaker Mike Johnson. I have a few thoughts.

MCCARTHY. I'm still not sure what McCarthy was trying to do this year by having the House pass major bills - and then never send them over to the Senate for further legislative action. McCarthy’s nine months on the job will certainly get a lot of attention from Congressional scholars of the future.

FREEDOM CAUCUS. The biggest losers this year were the conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus. Each time they decided not to support GOP leaders (debt limit, government shutdown, funding bills), the end product shifted more towards the Democrats. They might want to think about their strategy choices.

DICK PICS. I still can’t believe that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) decided it was okay to go after Hunter Biden by showing off poster boards of the dick pics that he emailed. I was reminded of Joseph Welch saying to Sen. Joe McCarthy in 1954, "You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?"

IMMIGRATION. I’m still not sure what most Democrats are thinking about the situation at the southern border. The number of migrants coming across the border remains at historically high levels. And yet, there seems to be little urgency in the halls of Congress to fix it. The voters may not like that.

CAMPAIGN 2024. Speaking of the voters, we are about to enter a presidential election year. Iowa is on January 15. New Hampshire is on January 23. The likely GOP nominee said on Christmas Day that his critics can ‘rot in hell.’ 2024 might be even crazier than 2023.

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RAP SHEET. A Michigan man got to spend his holiday break thinking about Jan. 6. Spencer Offman was arrested just before Christmas - over two years after being questioned by FBI agents. Offman had denied being inside the Capitol, and said that he did not agree with what rioters had done that day. And then in April 2022, a tipster got in touch with the feds.

• ROLL THE VIDEO. Not only were there photos of Offman moving barricades outside the Capitol - but then FBI agents scoured security video and found Offman entering the Capitol through the Senate Wing Door. He's probably lucky not to get charged with lying to the feds.

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MUSE OF HISTORY. December 28, 1836. On this date, the Senate was debating what to do about $14.6 million which had been approved by Congress - but not spent yet by the feds. Sen. Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri wanted to print those details and send it to the various state legislatures. That produced a sharp negative reaction, as Sen. John C. Calhoun of South Carolina argued it would 'mislead the public.' In the end, Benton agreed to print 1,000 copies just for Senators.

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LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House next has votes on January 9.

The Senate has votes on January 8.

Check President Biden’s schedule.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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