The Hill’s 12:30 Report — Herschel Walker story thickens

by Cate Martel - 10/06/22 12:30 PM ET

To view past editions of The Hill’s 12:30 Report, click here: https://bit.ly/30ARS1U

To receive The Hill’s 12:30 Report in your inbox, please sign up here: https://bit.ly/3qmIoS9

–> A midday take on what’s happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.*

*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically.

TALK OF THE MORNING

Herschel Walker’s defense took a hit:

The Daily Beast reported earlier this week that Georgia Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker urged a woman he dated in 2009 to get an abortion and reimbursed her for the procedure. Walker repeatedly denied the report, arguing he does not know the identity of the woman who made the claims.

Well, there’s an update: The Daily Beast now reports that the woman who made the claim is the mother of one of Walker’s own children.

Keep in mind: Walker has said throughout his campaign that he opposes abortion, even in the case of rape, incest and protecting the life of the mother.

HOW WALKER REACTED:

In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt: Walker is still denying the report.

“I say the same thing I said, that you know, I know this is untrue. I know it’s untrue, and they keep telling me things like that, and it’s totally, totally untrue,” Walker said on “The Hugh Hewitt Show.” More from Walker

‘WALKER’S CHRISTIAN FANS UNFAZED BY ABORTION REVELATIONS’:

According to Politico’s Natalie Allison

It’s Thursday. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: The Hill’s 12:30 Report is taking a long weekend! We will publish next on Wednesday, Oct. 12. Cheers!

☕️ In Congress

Here’s the tea:

“Tensions flared between Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and swing Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) during then-President Trump’s first impeachment trial in the Winter of 2020, according to an exclusively obtained excerpt from a new book.”

How so?: McConnell pressured Murkowski to vote against calling more witnesses in the trial. Murkowski “was disturbed” by McConnell’s pledge to work with Trump’s lawyers. Murkowski saw her role as an impartial jury.

Why this is important: “New revelations about what McConnell did behind the scenes to help Trump during his first impeachment trial shows the minority leader was one of Trump’s most effective Senate allies before their dramatic falling out after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.”

What went down

The forthcoming book: “Unchecked: The Untold Story Behind Congress’s Botched Impeachments of Donald Trump” by Rachael Bade and Karoun Demirjian will publish on Oct. 18.

🗳 Headlines from the campaign trail

‘A MAJORITY OF GOP NOMINEES — 299 IN ALL — DENY THE 2020 ELECTION RESULTS’:
From The Washington Post’s Amy Gardner

INTERESTING TIDBIT — ‘YOUNG WOMEN ARE TRENDING LIBERAL. YOUNG MEN ARE NOT’:
According to Gallup Poll data analyzed by the Survey Center on American Life.

The numbers

‘TEN 2024 CONTENDERS FACING BIG STAKES IN MIDTERMS’:
From The Hill’s Niall Stanage

WHO WILL BE THE NEXT BERNIE SANDERS OR ELIZABETH WARREN?:

“Progressives love Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). But they are increasingly realizing the two senators, who are 81 and 73 years old, aren’t going to be their leaders forever.” The Hill’s Hanna Trudo looks into the intensified debate on who might be the next faces of the movement.

📍 In Asia

North Korea is looking for attention:

The Associated Press’s Hyung-Jin Kim and Kim Tong-Hyung report that “North Korea flew 12 warplanes near its border with South Korea on Thursday, prompting the South to scramble 30 military aircraft in response, Seoul officials said.”

Plus: “The highly unusual incident came hours after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea in its sixth round of missile tests in less than two weeks.”

How South Korea reacted: “The military said South Korea responded by scrambling 30 fighter jets and other warplanes, though they didn’t engage in any clash with the North Korean aircraft.”

How tense the situation has become

In the White House

Harris’s motorcade was in a minor car accident:

The vehicle driving Vice President Harris to work on Monday hit a curb in a tunnel, causing the motorcade to stop in Foggy Bottom, according to The Washington Post’s Carol D. Leonnig

What is giving some pause: How the Secret Service reported the accident. It sent an electronic message of the incident, calling it “a mechanical failure.”

Keep in mind — these drivers have *a lot* of training: “The routine nature of the travel and the high level of training required for agents who drive the president and vice president led many in the Secret Service, as well as Harris, to question how such an accident could happen.”

The full story: https://wapo.st/3rz7XPM

🦠 Latest with COVID

Stephen Colbert, host of “The Late Show” took Anthony Fauci, the nation’s infectious diseases expert, to get his COVID-19 booster shot. Watch the clip

➤ THE COVID-19 NUMBERS

Cases to date: 96.3 million

Death toll: 1,055,293

Current hospitalizations: 21,242

Shots administered: 619 million

Fully vaccinated: 67.9 percent of Americans

CDC data here.

🖌 Notable tweets

Someone, please help the state of North Carolina:

The North Carolina Department of State Treasurer is hiring a graphic designer. The graphic for the job posting is *chef’s kiss*

Because you all know by now how much I *love* space launches:

Just in case you missed the SpaceX-NASA launch yesterday, CNN tweeted video.Watch the spacecraft head for the International Space Station

⏱On tap

The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in New York and New Jersey. Vice President Harris is in Washington, D.C.

10 a.m.: Biden left for Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
1:20 p.m.: Biden tours IBM.
3:05 p.m.: Biden leaves for Red Bank, N.J.
4 p.m.: Harris ceremonially swears in Arati Prabhakar as director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
5 p.m.: Biden participates in a Democratic National Committee (DNC) reception.
6:15 p.m.: Biden leaves for New York N.Y.
8 p.m.: Biden participates in a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee reception.
10:50 p.m.: Biden returns to the White House.

All times Eastern.

📺What to watch

11 a.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gaggled with reporters aboard Air Force One. Watch
11 a.m.: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen delivered remarks on the global economy. Watch
2 p.m.: Biden delivers remarks on creating jobs in the Hudson Valley and lowering costs. Livestream
4 p.m.: The SpaceX crew arrives at the International Space Station. Livestream