Michigan Primary: Progressives Try To Send Biden A Message; Trump Wins Again
Drugmakers blame DEA over ADHD med shortage; Government shutdown averted?
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Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren
🗳 MICHIGAN VOTERS CHOOSE TRUMP-BIDEN REMATCH; “UNCOMMITTED” GETS A PUSH
MICHIGAN VOTES
In a state that will likely play a key role in deciding who will be the next president of the United States, former President Trump continued his sweep of all GOP primaries while Joe Biden easily won the Democratic primary, edging closer to a general election rematch.
SOME DEMOCRATS ARE “UNCOMMITTED”
For Biden, it wasn’t just about winning. He got about 80% of the vote, but about 15% of the Democrats who voted, voted “uncommitted.” It was part of an organized campaign effort from some progressive and Arab-American Democrats to send a message to Biden that they’re angry about his support for Israel.
Biden only won Michigan by about 150,000 votes in the 2020 general election. Trump won it by about 10,000 in 2016.
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, the first Arab American mayor of a majority Arab American city, told NPR his community is "not sizable enough to make a candidate win" but "sizable enough to make a candidate lose."
Some history: About 20,000 Democrats voted “uncommitted” in each of the last three Michigan Democratic presidential primaries. As of 8 amET, more than 100,000 voted “uncommitted” this year.
What’s next: It’s not clear whether the Democrats who voted “uncommitted” Tuesday will sit out the general election, vote for Trump or Biden. Notably, Trump is even more supportive of Israel than Biden, but some of the “uncommitteds” say they want to teach Biden a lesson over Gaza.
REPUBLICANS
Donald Trump won about 2/3 of the vote on the GOP side, beating Nikki Haley by about 30 points. He’s won every 2024 Republican contest so far, but Haley says she’s committed to staying in the race until Super Tuesday, when 1/3 of the delegates get handed out. Trump is set to have the nomination mathematically locked in within 3 weeks.
Haley is effectively running a zombie campaign at this point and appears to have lost traction in Michigan, after getting above 40% of the vote in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
📝 SHUTDOWN WATCH: TOP LAWMAKERS ARE “OPTIMISTIC” AFTER TALKS
Democratic and Republican congressional leaders are optimistic that they’ll reach a deal to avert a partial government shutdown set to start on Saturday.
Top lawmakers met with President Biden at the White House yesterday and came out hopeful that they will keep the government funded. Lawmakers put pressure on Speaker Mike Johnson to allow a long-stalled vote on Ukraine aid to go forward.
PLAYING NICE
The split Congress first needs to pass funding for the departments of Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Agriculture, Energy and several other agencies, which are operating on temporary budget extensions since Sept. 30. The rest of the government’s funding expires after March 8.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reported Johnson "said unequivocally he wants to avoid a government shutdown." The Senate has been ready to fund the government for months, but a group of House Republicans is demanding major spending cuts in exchange for keeping the government open.
Short-term deal: Schumer indicated that short-term spending bills will likely be the path forward, given the deadline’s proximity. This will kick the can down the road again, and give negotiators more time to complete the full fiscal-year bills.
NO REGRETS
Schumer said everyone in the room pressured Johnson over a stalled $95 billion Ukraine aid package, and that the discussion was “the most intense I have ever encountered in my many meetings in the Oval Office.”
Schumer told Johnson he would “regret it for the rest of his life” if he blocked the assistance — giving more power to autocratic rulers and make America look like a “soft, fat country that’s lost its way.”
Earlier this month the Senate passed the package which also gives assistance to Israel and Taiwan.
Johnson along with other House Republicans have pushed-back against the measure, insisting the US-Mexico border first must be “secure.”
THE BOTTOM LINE: Both the funding package and the foreign aid bill could easily pass the House, given widespread Democratic support. The issue: If Speaker Johnson passes the bills working with Democrats, his hard-right Republican flank will be upset —and may consider ousting him— just as they did former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. These delays are based on his hope—and desperate effort — to work with his own party, and preserve his job.
💊 SHORTAGES OF ADHD MEDICATIONS STILL IMPACTING AMERICANS
A nationwide shortage of medications used to treat ADHD is impacting Americans for the second year running. One of the causes: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) limits placed on the production of controlled substances like Adderall.
HOW WE GOT HERE
The FDA announced an Adderall shortage in Oct. 2022. Other ADHD medications followed suit.
Growing demand: The FDA predicts that demand for ADHD drugs will climb 3.1% in 2024.
During the pandemic, lawmakers expanded tele-health providers' abilities to prescribe medications, leading to an increase in ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions.
From 2019 to 2021, there were about 17% more ADHD prescriptions among Americans ages 20 to 44, according to health research firm IQVIA.
Manufacturing issues, supply-chain failures, and an increase in prescriptions all play a role in the shortage. Another reason: DEA controlled substance caps.
The DEA sets annual caps on manufacturing of controlled substances and their active ingredients.
Schedule II stimulants such as amphetamine, methylphenidate, and lisdexamfetamine are active ingredients in various types of ADHD medications.
THE BLAME GAME
Drug makers are blaming the DEA, while the agency is pointing fingers at drug makers. ADHD makers say they don’t have enough ingredients to make the drugs and need permission from the DEA to make more. The DEA said some drug makers didn’t use their total allotments for production in prior years, and should relinquish their ingredients so that other drugmakers can produce more.
After the 2022 shortage, the agency raised its limits for methylphenidate. They say it should be “sufficient to supply legitimate medical needs” in 2024.
The DEA says it can “increase the aggregate production quota at any time” should the need arise.
The FDA approved a number of generic versions of Vyvanse last year, but as the manufacturers try to increase production, nearly all of them say they are facing shortages of lisdexamfetamine.
Bigger picture: Families still cannot access desperately needed medication, causing parents to ration pills, and search for pharmacies that might have some pills in stock.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 Immigration surges to top concern for Americans, new poll finds (AXIOS)
📌 The Supreme Court will weigh a Trump-era ban on bump stocks for guns today (CBS NEWS)
📌 The U.S. Army cutting 24,000 jobs and restructuring for the next major war amid recruiting shortfalls (ABC NEWS)
📌 An explosive Texas fire more than doubles in size as it threatens towns and forces evacuations (CNN)
📌 Texas nuclear weapons facility pauses production due to wildfire (AP)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 South Korea shatters record again for world’s lowest birth rate (REUTERS) Why Korean women aren’t having kids (BBC)
📌 Two Mexican mayoral candidates assassinated within hours of one another (AP)
📌 Spanish city to charge landmark entry fee to manage out of control tourism (CNN)
📌 Hezbollah says it fired 'large volley' of rockets at Israeli surveillance base (REUTERS)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Private lunar lander sends back first pics from its moon landing (NBC NEWS)
📌 Apple cancels work on electric car, ending 10 year+ effort (CNBC)
📌 Macy's to close 150 stores, about 30% of its locations, in bid to shift toward luxury goods; Plans to open more Bloomingdales (NPR)
📌 Lead-tainted applesauce sailed through gaps in food-safety system (NY TIMES)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 2 men found guilty of murder in Jam Master Jay killing (NBC NEWS)
📌 Baseball players upset at new see-through pants, discussing with MLB (AP)
📌 Michael Jackson Biopic makes final casting decisions; set for 2025 premiere (VARIETY)
📌 Queer Eye announces Jeremiah Brent is replacing Bobby Berk for season 9 (EW)
📌 Kristen Cavallari dating 24 year-old boyfriend (PEOPLE)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: FEBRUARY 28
1983: An estimated 106 million Americans watch the final episode of the TV show, ‘MASH.’
1986: ‘Pretty in Pink,’ starring Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer and Andrew McCarthy, premieres in theaters.
1993: When US law enforcement attempted to arrest Branch Davidian leader David Koresh on weapons charges, a gun battle and subsequent 51-day standoff began at the religious compound near Waco, TX.
1996: Princess Diana agreed to divorce Prince Charles after 15 years of marriage. The divorce was officially finalized in August of that year.
2013: Benedict XVI resigned after eight years, becoming the first pope to do so in about 600 years.