In Today’s Times
- Though the automatic budget cuts were never intended to go into effect, administration officials - and even some Pentagon officers - see the cuts as a possible opening to argue for reductions in programs long in President Obama’s sights, David E. Sanger and Thom Shanker report.
- Vermont’s 625,000 residents have two United States senators, and so do New York’s 19 million, giving a Vermonter 30 times the Senate voting power of a New Yorker, Adam Liptak writes. That gap is not an anomaly. The growing disparity in citizens’ voting power is affecting the political dynamic on issues as varied as gun control, immigration and campaign finance.
- Though Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona has won respect in conservative circles or her previous legislative battles, she is having a hard time persuading fellow Republicans to come on board for a measure that would expand Medicaid in her state, Fernanda Santos reports.
- Former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida appeared on all the morning talk shows on Sunday for two purposes: to promote his new book and do damage control over some of its content, Jackie Calmes reports.
- As President Obama goes to Capitol Hill this week to try to salvage a big deficit-reduction deal, he faces complaints from Democrats who say he mishandled his last attempt at a “grand bargain,†Richard W. Ste! venson and John Harwood write.
Around the Web
- President Obama is likely to nominate Thomas E. Perez, an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, to be the next secretary of labor, the Washington Post reports.
- Politico: For one group of senators, silence isn’t golden - it’s priceless.
- It’s a tough time to be a conservative Congressional staff member whose specialty is health care, Politico also writes.
Happening in Washington
- Michelle Obama will host a Q&A on Twitter at 11:05 a.m. about her “Let’s Mov!†initiative.
