- Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who recently poked President Trump’s pick of Reagan-era top lawman William Barr to be his next attorney general, was predicting that former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was going to get the job. Insiders said that he told top Justice officials that the controversial Christie was a lock, right before he pulled his name out of contention.
- Former Republican Party spokesman and pundit Doug Heye has extended his contract with CNN for the coming presidential election. Heye said, “Between shutdowns, the coming change of power in the House and a burgeoning Democratic version of the Freedom Caucus, there should be no shortage of topics for me to draw from my experiences on Capitol Hill and the Republican National Committee to help take a peek behind the political curtain.”
- Public relations companies have been busy hiring top Washington communicators as new partners. Definers Public Affairs picked up Antonia Ferrier from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s GOP press shop. Hamilton Place Strategies brought in Michael Steel, former House Speaker John Boehner’s top spox. The expanding communications firm also hired Lauren Claffey, who founded Claffey Communications. She has been a spokeswoman in both the House and Senate.
- Leslie Rutledge, the past chairwoman of the Republican Attorneys General Association, is pulling out her “fire Pelosi” lawn sign now that Nancy Pelosi will be House speaker again. Rutledge, the attorney general of Arkansas, told the Ripon Forum, “I will wipe the dust off my ‘Fire Pelosi’ sign dating back to my Republican National Committee days — because I feel the energy of a strong America continuing to rise.”
- D.C.’s George Washington University is the latest liberal school to see standing-room-only support for conservative talker and Daily Wire Editor Ben Shapiro. GW YAF said the event, set for Jan. 17, sold out in 10 minutes.
