The Hill’s 12:30 Report

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The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Quiz: Which House of Cards character are you? | Romney excoriates Trump | SCOTUS rejects bid to block air pollution rule | Republicans who won’t back Trump | CPAC starts today

IN HONOR OF THROWBACK THURSDAY: Former Republican nominee Mitt Romney delivered a scathing speech against Donald Trump – at the same time his former running mate Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) gave his weekly presser. #TBT. Forget Trump’s endorsement of Romney just four years ago! Things. Have. Changed. Romney called Trump a “fraud” and said “his promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He’s playing the American public for suckers. He gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat.” Ouch. Trump will respond at 1:30 p.m. EST. It could be brutal. Get your popcorn ready. http://bit.ly/1p1SMgb

The Hill’s Scott Wong (2012 throwback)
Both Romney and Ryan holding press conferences now. At least one will be blasting Trump http://bit.ly/1UBMfo9

Politico’s Blake Hounshell
Amazing to watch Romney deploy the same nuclear attack against Trump that Democrats used to destroy him in 2012. http://bit.ly/1OTTRLs

The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes
Peak Romney: Trump ‘very, very not smart’ on foreign policy http://bit.ly/1QnI3VR

The Washington Post’s Ed O’Keefe
I spot one man in the crowd wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat. http://bit.ly/1WX9F60

Dan Scavino, Trump adviser
Mitt Romney with an incredible endorsement for Donald Trump! #MakeAmericaGreatAgain #Trump2016 #TrumpTrain http://bit.ly/1p1Va6H (oh…. that is not great.)

It’s Thursday! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of what you missed this morning — and what’s on tap for the rest of the day. Send comments, story ideas and which character from House of Cards you are to cmartel@digital-stage.thehill.com, @CateMartel and on Facebook.

ARE YOU THE FRANK UNDERWOOD OR THE ZOE BARNES OF THE GROUP? Here’s a newly released quiz to find out which character from “House of Cards” you are. Side note, if you get Frank, please keep your distance from me, especially near forms of public transportation 😉 http://bit.ly/1QtUPn2

BREAKING THIS A.M. — SCOTUS REJECTS STATES’ AIR POLLUTION PLEA: Via The Hill’s Timothy Cama, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected a plea Thursday to block a contentious air pollution rule for power plants. What this means politically: It’s a big victory for the Obama administration. http://bit.ly/1QOlJSn

{mosads}TRUMP-CARE PLAN: Via The Hill’s Peter Sullivan, Donald Trump released his healthcare plan. The gist (in line with most Republicans): Repeal ObamaCare, get rid of the mandate and allow health insurance to be sold across state lines and tax-free contributions to Health Savings Accounts. Where Trump breaks with the GOP: his plan would allow drugs to be imported from overseas to increase competition and drive down prices — Hillary Clinton is a big advocate of that — and calls for Medicare to negotiate drug prices. http://bit.ly/1nj82mR

[IN A GODFATHER VOICE] I WILL DO THIS FAVOR FOR YOU: Via The Washington Post’s Adam Goldman, the Justice Department has granted immunity to a former State Department staffer who built Hillary Clinton’s private email server. Bryan Pagliano has agreed to work with the FBI in exchange for not facing any criminal charges. http://bit.ly/1RsdBYo

READY, SE– NOPE! SORRY TO INTERUPT, COULDN’T WAIT THAT LONG!: The Hill’s Haley Britzky, Luke Barr and Andrew Dunn have a list of the Republicans who won’t support Donald Trump even if he’s the nominee. The list includes: Rep. Carlos Curbelo (Fla.), former Gov. George Pataki (N.Y.), former Rep. Ron Paul (Texas), Sen. Ben Sasse (Neb.), Rep. Reid Ribble (Wis.), former Gov. Tom Ridge (Pa.), Rep. Scott Rigell (Va.), Rep. Mark Sanford (S.C.), former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (N.J.), former Rep. J.C. Watts (Okla.), former Mitt Romney aide Kevin Madden, former RNC Chairman Mel Martínez (Fla.), former George W. Bush official Eliot Cohen, GOP strategist Liz Mair, former RNC communications director Doug Heye, conservative media host Glenn Beck,RedState’s Jay Caruso, conservative radio host Steve Deace, conservative writer Erick Erickson, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol and conservative New York Times contributor Peter Wehner. See here for the most updated list: http://bit.ly/1poSoYO And The Hill’s Scott Wong and Alexander Bolton have the backstory on the GOP split: http://bit.ly/1TVnWAO

ADDING TO SCOTUS NOMINEE SPECULATION: Via The Hill’s Jordan Fabian, the White House is vetting federal appellate Judge Jane Kelly as a potential nominee to the Supreme Court. Factoid: a Republican-controlled Senate unanimously confirmed Kelly in 2013 to her current position. http://bit.ly/1WWD3JJ

THE TALK OF TWITTER — HOW HILLARY HIT THE RESET BUTTON: Politico’s Glenn Thrush and Annie Karni deconstructed how Hillary Clinton hit the reset button on her campaign — and could win because of it. The gist: She changed her strategy and learned to trust her advisers. “The bottom line,” said one longtime Clinton friend, “is she never lost her shit. And now she’s going to win.” http://politi.co/1QVq3FW

HE CAN DO WHAT HE WANTS, WHILE SNAPPING IN A Z FORMATION: Via The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) addressed Mitt Romney‘s expected attack on Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump saying that “everything is fair game” until a nominee is chosen. http://bit.ly/1oRW3Os

‘PRO-WHITE’ RADIO SHOW FOLLOW UP: Via The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky, Donald Trump’s son said he didn’t intentionally do an interview with a radio host who once wrote favorably about slavery, noting he wouldn’t have gone through with the interview if he knew the host’s positions. http://bit.ly/1L6zOif

 

NOTABLE TWEETS:

The Wall Street Journal’s Jon Ostrower (wowowow)
Out of curiosity, I found the first NYT reference to Adolf Hitler. Nov. 21, 1922. Amazing last three paragraphs. http://bit.ly/1QOgqCy

Roll Call’s Bill Clark (nice dress!)
It’s CPAC fashion week. http://bit.ly/1SkJ97m

Bloomberg’s Erik Wasson
House GOP meets privately on budget. Speaker Ryan says he’s not dictator, wants consensus http://bit.ly/1OTsYY1

 

ON TAP:

Today through tomorrow: The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Key speakers below; full agenda here: http://bit.ly/1njbv52

12:30 p.m. EST: Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) holds a press conference following a meeting with Michigan Republican leaders on the state of the race.

1 p.m. EST: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) will hold a press conference.

1:15 p.m. EST: Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) speaks at CPAC.

1:45 p.m. EST: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) speaks at CPAC.

1:30 p.m. EST: Donald Trump holds a rally in Portland, Maine. 

2:15 p.m. EST: Vice President Biden will swear-in Azita Raji as ambassador to Sweden.

2:20 p.m. EST: Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) speaks at CPAC. 

2:50 p.m. EST: President Obama discusses ObamaCare in Milwaukee.

3 p.m. EST: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) speaks at CPAC.

3:15 p.m. EST: Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) speaks at CPAC.

3:30 p.m. EST: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) speaks at CPAC.

4:10 p.m. EST: Sen. Deb Fisher (R-Neb.), Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) speak at CPAC.

4:15 p.m. EST: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin speaks at CPAC.

5:30 p.m. EST: Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) will campaign with Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) in Derry, N.H.

 

NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF….

Today is National Cold Cuts Day!

A WAY I COULD FINALLY HIT 5’6″!: …it’s a life goal. Astronaut Scott Kelly returned to Earth after 340 days in space, where he studied the physical effects of living in space. Most notably, he grew 2 inches taller! http://nbcnews.to/1Qtzdak 

THE SECRET SAUCE BEHIND FREEMAN’S VOICE: On Jimmy Kimmel‘s show, actor Morgan Freeman revealed why his sounds as great as it does. The secret: his voice and diction instructor in school. Kimmel’s response: “So you actually learned something in college? I learned how to drink beer out of a funnel.” http://ti.me/1TrSWKg

HOW CUTE, CHICK-FIL-A: Chick-fil-A has started giving away free ice cream for families who complete the family challenge. Rules: Everyone in the family must silence their phones and put them into a coop. If they don’t use their phones the entire meal, Chick-fil-A gives them free ice cream. http://bit.ly/1LWPL5j

And with that, here is the best reaction of a baby not excited for #WorldBookDay. http://bit.ly/1QtFWBo

 

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