Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Obama To Lunch with Reps. Van Hollen and Ryan - the day following an evening meal with a dozen Republican senators, President Obama will have lunch at the White House with Representatives Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Paul Ryan (R-Wi.).

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71% Support Raising minimum Wage to $9 Per Hour - A strong majority of Americans support increasing the minimum wage, as President Barack Obama had proposed in his recent State of the Union address.
 
Seventy-one percent of those surveyed back raising the minimum wage to $9 per hour, while 27 percent oppose it, with the remainder not answering or undecided, according to a Gallup Poll released Wednesday.  Gallup.com has more here.

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Paul Ends 13 Hour Filibuster of Brennan - Libertarian Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)'s filibuster of the nomination of John Brennan as director of the Central Intelligence Agency ended after nearly 13 hours on Thursday morning over a contentious debate on civil liberties, namely whether the Obama administration could employ drone strikes on American soil.  TPM.com has more here.

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Gun Background Check Legislation Stalls in Senate - Disagreement over details of how universal background checks track firearm purchases in the United States has halted momentum on further legislation, dimming -- for now -- prospects that Congress will pass major new gun laws in the wake of the Newtown shootings.
 
Senate Democrats negotiating a bill to require all gun buyers to get a background check have abandoned discussions with GOP Sen. Tom Coburn, leaving the legislation -- at least for now -- without backing from a pro-gun Republican.

That means a key Senate committee will start discussing and voting on gun laws Thursday morning without a workable, bipartisan version of what's become the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's proposed package of new gun laws.  NBC First Read has more here.

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China Votes for New U.N. Sanctions Against N. Korea - The U.N. Security Council approved tough new sanctions Thursday against North Korea over its latest nuclear test, brushing aside Pyongyang’s threat of nuclear retaliation against the United States and other purported aggressors.
 
The unanimous vote by the 15-member council imposed sanctions aimed at making it more difficult for North Korea to finance its weapons programs and obtain materials for them. The sanctions resolution was drafted by the United States and China — long the chief ally and benefactor of the North.  The Washington Post has more here.

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Clinton Leads Top GOP Challengers in 2016 - Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leads three potential 2016 Republican presidential contenders in a new poll.

In the new Quinnipiac poll of registered voters nationwide, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) fares the best against Clinton, taking 37 percent support to her 45 percent support.

But against the other two potential Republican candidates tested, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Clinton takes double-digit leads, with 50 percent support to Ryan's 38 percent support and 50 percent to Rubio's 34 percent.  TheHill.com has more here.

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Colbert Busch Launches First TV Ad - Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert, launched her first television advertisement Thursday as she seeks the Democratic nomination in South Carolina’s 1st District special election.

In the slickly-made spot, she shares her résumé — director of sales and marketing at a shipping company, director of business development at a former naval shipyard in North Charleston — and emphasizes her experience creating jobs.  RollCall.com has more here.

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