Impeachment III

Good morning!

Are Democrats ready to talk about impeaching Donald Trump a third time?

Rep. LaMonica McIver is. The Essex County Democrat, who won reelection by huge margins in her largely Democratic district Tuesday, appeared with colleagues and activists for a rally in front of the federal courthouse in Newark on Wednesday to crow about the GOP’s ELE — extinction-level event, otherwise known as Election Day.

Asked about a Trump impeachment, McIver said she’s “down for that.”

“I can speak on behalf of LaMonica McIver,” she said. “Any time someone introduces an impeachment resolution for that president, I’m going to always hit yes. All the time, it doesn’t matter to me, it’s just — point blank, period.”

That McIver was in front of the federal courthouse did not appear to be a coincidence. The Trump administration is prosecuting McIver in federal court, alleging she assaulted agents outside Newark migrant jail Delaney Hall last year, a prosecution McIver has said before and repeated against Wednesday is punishment for her vocal opposition to the administration’s policies. Her trial could start soon.

“There are still levers of power that this president has, and he will use them against the people who speak out against him. But — but — we have the power now too,” she said.

Buckle up.

Fuel: A bit lost in the news about the election was Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s letter to private port and terminal operators (she dropped it Election Day eve) telling them they would face harsh penalties if they accept any oil headed here from Russia. President Donald Trump made a deal with Russia for diesel fuel, but Sherrill noted in her letter that federal law bars Russian fuel imports. She told reporters Wednesday that the election results should give those private operators pause. “Not holding corporations accountable, allowing people to break the law, and thinking you’re going to have the cover of Trump and MAGA Republicans, that is not the case anymore, and people are on notice,” Sherrill said.

Commentary: I have some thoughts on the Dems’ great Election Day. The biggest one is, considering how far the country’s electorate swung in the last 24 months, Democrats who have campaigned on affordability better not waste one day delivering on their promises, because voters are clearly not in the mood to wait.

Here’s a poodle who was at the rally outside Newark’s federal courthouse Wednesday. Her name is Mocha.

Sherrill: Sherrill, who like her last few predecessors has national ambitions, touted Dem victories when speaking to reporters Wednesday. She said Republicans should take the drubbing to distance themselves from the president. “What they saw last night is that there is no path forward for them or for their party or for elections if they continue down this path. So I am hopeful that some of them will wake up, and if not for the country, then for their own electoral prospects, grow a spine and stand up to Trump and work with Democrats to get some of this done,” she said.

D.C.: Vice President JD Vance blames Republican losses on the war in Iran. “If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest. But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there,” he wrote on social media. Trump later said Vance’s opinion is “largely true” but the president added that he would do it again if he had to because of the threat a nuclear Iran poses.

Health: In nonelection news (because the world keeps spinning), harm reduction advocates are urging the state to host a public hearing on how to use opioid settlement funds. The state is giving hundreds of millions of dollars in these funds to counties and towns, but as Dana DiFilippo has reported recently, the money is being used on a host of … questionable items. “It’s time for the state to step up and get a handle on these settlement funds. This public hearing request makes clear that people all over the state care about how these dollars are spent, and they want the state to lead,” said Jenna Mellor, who runs the New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition.