Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Obama to announce veterans job program - President Barack Obama on Tuesday will "make a significant employment announcement for veterans and military spouses," the White House announced.
 
The President, alongside First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden, will announce the White House's "latest Joining Forces initiative, a program designed to help find jobs for veterans and military spouses," USA Today reported.

The announcement is scheduled to be held 11:45 a.m. ET at the East Room of the White House.  TPM.com has more here. 
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Treasury to pay down debt for first time since Obama took office - The Treasury Department announced Monday that it would reduce its level of debt in financial markets for the first time since President Obama took office.
The department said it expects to pay down a net of $35 billion in its marketable debt for the second quarter of 2013, the first time it has done so since 2007.

In February, Treasury had estimated the government would have to borrow $103 billion during the second quarter, and would end up with a cash balance of only $30 billion.

But thanks to unexpectedly higher receipts of government revenue and lower outlays in spending, the Treasury is experiencing a swing in fortune that allows officials to actually pay down some of its outstanding debt.

Treasury now expects to have a cash balance of $75 billion in June after paying down the $35 billion in debt.  You can read more here.
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Obama calls Collins - President Obama called Jason Collins Monday after the NBA player went public about being gay.
 
"The president called Jason Collins to express his support and said he was impressed by his courage," a White House official tells POLITICO.

First lady Michelle Obama also tweeted her support for Collins, while White House press secretary Jay Carney said during a press briefing Monday that the administration commends Collins and sees his coming out as another sign of progress in American society.
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Elizabeth Colbert Busch fares well in debate - At best, Mark Sanford fought to a draw against Elizabeth Colbert Busch in the only debate of the campaign. That spells trouble for the Republican, who is running out of chances to turn the tide with just a week left until Election Day.

From the beginning, Colbert Busch aggressively challenged Sanford. She knocked his record in Congress, slammed his 2009 disappearance as governor, and parried his attempts to tie her to national Democrats.

“When we talk about fiscal spending, and we talk about protecting the taxpayers, it doesn’t mean you take that money we saved and leave the country for a personal purpose,” Colbert Busch declared early in the debate.  The Washington Post has more here.

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Markey favored to win Massachusetts Democratic primary - Rep. Edward Markey (D) is heavily favored to win the Democratic primary Tuesday in the race to fill the Massachusetts Senate seat vacated by Secretary of State John Kerry — but the Republican contest remains far more murky.

There is considerably more uncertainty about the outcome of the Republican primary, with few polls available to take the pulse of the three-man field. About 200,000 voters are projected to cast ballots in the Republican primary, 35,000 more than in 2009.
The GOP field pits local businessman Gabriel Gomez against former ATF acting director Michael Sullivan and state Rep. Dan Winslow.  TheHill.com has more here.

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F.B.I. looking into relationship between Virginia governor and donor - FBI agents are conducting interviews about the relationship between Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, his wife, Maureen, and a major campaign donor who paid for the food at the wedding of the governor’s daughter, according to four people familiar with the questioning.
 
The agents have been asking associates of the McDonnells about gifts provided to the family by Star Scientific chief executive Jonnie R. Williams Sr. and actions the Republican governor and his wife have taken that may have boosted the company, the people said.

Among the topics being explored, they said, is the $15,000 catering bill that Williams paid for the 2011 wedding of McDonnell’s daughter at Virginia’s historic Executive Mansion.  The Washington Post has more here.

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