Part 1: I don’t know how many of you listened to former Chief of Staff Ron Klain saying goodbye yesterday. He listed the accomplishments of the Biden administration during its first two years, even though (a) it came into office with the smallest majority in Congress of any Democratic president in the last 100 years, (b) while helping fight the largest land war in Europe since World War II and (c) fighting the biggest pandemic in the United States since Woodrow Wilson. Here is his list:

1. The most ambitious economic plan since FDR
2. The largest infrastructure bill since Dwight Eisenhower
3. Confirmed the largest number of judges in first two years since JFK
4. The second biggest healthcare bill since LBJ
5. The most significant gun control bill since Bill Clinton
6. The biggest climate control bill passed by any country anywhere anytime.
7. Student loan relief
8. Most health care coverage any time
9. Marijuana pardons
10. Most Black and Brown employment ever
11. Lowest number unemployed in 50 years
12. National debt relief
13. Less child poverty

As Klain said: not bad.

Part 2: Did you hear Congresswoman Ilhan Omar speak today on the House floor before she was kicked off the Foreign Affairs Committee by a totally partisan vote? Like Ron Klain’s speech, it is worth listening to. How a 9 year old Black Muslim war refugee from Africa is being targeted for attack by the Republicans, after the same Republicans attacked former Black President Obama as being Muslim (which he wasn’t) and born in Africa (which he wasn’t). How as a young girl hiding under a bed waiting for the bullets to stop is going to stand up for other young children hiding under beds waiting for bullets to stop. How she epitomizes the American immigrant who believes in the promise of America.

Part 3. Examples of apples and oranges:

1. Raising the debt ceiling to satisfy existing obligations v. holding down future spending.
2. Controlling the border v. guaranteeing the rights of asylum seekers.

Conflating both of these items by the Republicans is simply forestalling progress on any of them.

Part 4. How will the Republican House carry on this term? If today is an example, they will spend our money arguing whether a member should or should not be allowed on a particular committee, and then they will have another vote to “denounce socialism”. And I myself can’t wait until they get to Hunter Biden.