Political Quick Hits: December 7th Edition
Here’s your weekly quick look at few developing stories in the political arena:
- Now that the 2012 presidential election is over, Mitt Romney is headed back to work. Romney will rejoin the board of directors at Marriott International. Romney has served on the board twice before, once from 1993 til 2002 and again from January 2009 until January 2011. (Huff Po)
- Gary Grindler, Eric Holder’s chief of staff in the Justice Department will resign on Friday. Grindler was named by Republicans in their investigation into the botched “Fast and Furious” Mexican gunrunning scheme that resulted in the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent. Many other Justice Department members and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives officials associated with the operation’s failures have previously stepped down as well. (CNN)
- On Wednesday, Speaker of the House John Boehner conceded that taxes on the wealthy are going to have to go up in a compromise on the fiscal cliff situation. President Obama and Rep. Boehner spoke by phone late in the week, but no agreement was reached. Members of the House of Representatives have since gone home for a long weekend. Major automatic spending cuts and tax hikes are set to occur on January 1 if there is no agreement on the fiscal cliff. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said this week that the White House is prepared for the tax increases and spending cuts should the negotiations with congressional Republicans fail. (CNN)
- There has been some new polling released this week in regards to what Americans feel about the fiscal cliff. According to Quinnipiac poll, 65 percent of registered voters support higher taxes on incomes over $250,000 per year. Also according the poll, seven out of ten oppose cutting Medicaid spending and 51 percent oppose raising the age for Medicare eligibility from 65 to 67. Also this week, a Washington Post/Pew Poll 53 percent said Republicans in Congress would be more to blame if we go over the cliff which is compared to only 27 percent who say President Obama would be to blame.
- Finally, the White House acknowledge this week that majority of Puerto Rico residents backed becoming a state. “To clarify, the results were clear, the people of Puerto Rico want the issue of status resolved, and majority chose statehood in the second question. Now it is time for Congress to act and the administration will work with them on that effort, so that the people of Puerto Rico can determine their own future.” White House spokesman Luis Miranda said in a statement on Tuesday. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the near future. (ABC News)
