Immigration will be at the top of the agenda Wednesday, as Telemundo and Univision interview President Obama at the White House.
Just in the nick of time… “President Obama made it official Tuesday, signing a temporary spending bill that headed off a government shutdown,” USA Today writes. “The ‘Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013,’ which funds the government for the last six months of the current fiscal year, replaces a plan that had been set to expire Wednesday.”
“President Barack Obama appointed Julia Pierson as the next director of the U.S. Secret Service on Tuesday, making her the first woman to ever hold that role,” NBC’s Michael O’Brien writes. Appointing a woman also comes after “one of the most embarrassing recent incidents for the agency involving revelations that 11 agents allegedly engaged prostitutes in 2012 while on protective assignment at the Summit of the Americas in Colombia. The episode resulted in the retirement or resignation of several agents.”
Eighty percent of Americans say they’re either disappointed or angry at Washington, according to a CBS poll. In fact, 30% saying they’re “angry” is the highest it’s been in the poll. President Obama gets just a 45%/46% approval rating, a drop from 52%/38% last month.
Still, in an ABC/Washington Post poll, Obama’s favorability remains high – 57%/41%.
In his first public speech since resigning as CIA director, David Petraeus apologized for his affair.
Charlie Cook on why the sequester happened: “It has long been true in Washington that it is harder to stop something than to do something. The late House Speaker Sam Rayburn was fond of saying, ‘Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one.’ Today, even the best carpenters in this process are rendered ineffective and are outnumbered.”
National Journal says New York Mayor Bloomberg may be progressive on some issues, but rankles liberals on others.
North Dakota passed the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country.
Politico: “The owner of a gun store in Tucson, Ariz., has canceled Mark Kelly’s purchase of an AR-15 because the gun control advocate doesn’t plan on keeping the assault weapon. Kelly, a former astronaut and the husband of former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), bought the gun earlier this month to show how easy it is to buy an assault weapon. He said he planned on turning the gun over to Tucson police.”
USA Today: “If Congress addresses the nation's budget deficit by cutting Medicare, that will simply shift health care costs to the private sector and not address the underlying issues, Obama administration officials said Tuesday at a White House briefing.”
Another Seal Team Six member says the story in GQ last month about who shot bin Laden is “complete B.S.”
Women’s hoops fever… Vice President Joe Biden was in the stands Tuesday night as the University of Delaware defeated North Carolina 78-69 in the women’s NCAA tournament to advance to the Sweet 16 behind 33 points from Elena Delle Donne, who surpassed 3,000 points for her career in the game.
Former President George W. Bush and brother Jeb were in attendance to see Baylor’s women’s team blowout Florida State 84-47. Bush addressed both teams in the locker rooms before the game and even walked out of the tunnel with the head coach before the game. AP: “They got a huge ovation when people began to realize who it was.” During the game, Bush sat next to Baylor grad Ken Starr, “yes, the former independent prosecutor best known for his investigation into the Clinton White House and the Monica Lewinsky scandal.” Photo here.