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Groton Daily Independent
Tuesday, March 06, 2018 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 235 ~ 24 of 35
Vermont, the top Democrat on the Appropriations panel. “We’ve never once had a partisan word between us. And he has always, always, always kept his word — and I wish to heck some other senators around here would learn to do that.”
But the old-school Cochran has seemed increasingly out of place in a chamber where partisan elbows are sharper.
Explicit earmarks for home-state projects such as roads and bridges, economic development grants, and help for schools such as Cochran’s alma mater, the University of Mississippi, were banned in 2011.
In 2014, he struggled to win a Republican primary over McDaniel, who received nancial support from libertarian-leaning groups that criticized Cochran as a big spender.
That race grabbed national attention after a McDaniel supporter entered a nursing home without per- mission and photographed Cochran’s wife, Rose, who was bedridden with dementia. Images of her ap- peared brie y online in a video that attempted to show Cochran was having an inappropriate relationship with one of his longtime staff members, Kay Webber — an accusation he denied. McDaniel said he had no connection to the incident.
Rose Cochran died in December 2014. Thad Cochran married Webber in a private ceremony in May 2015.
Wicker said Monday he and his campaign haven’t communicated with McDaniel about which seat he’ll seek. Asked if he’s relieved because McDaniel might seek the open seat instead of challenging him, Wicker said, “I don’t know that.” He smiled as he answered the question and told reporters, “I’m smiling because of your persistence.”
The Mississippi race was also being eyed by former White House strategist Steve Bannon, who at one point warned of the challenges to GOP incumbents he felt were insuf ciently supportive of President Donald Trump.
That effort may have waned, however. Senate Republicans suffered a stunning setback in December when neighboring Alabama elected a Democratic senator, in a special election, for the rst time in a generation. Bannon backed Republican Roy Moore, who was accused of sexual impropriety against young women.
Mississippi’s governor has not released names of people he will consider appointing to temporarily ll Cochran’s seat, though there has been widespread speculation that he might appoint Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves or Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, both Republicans.
Bryant has not said whether he would consider appointing himself to the Senate. He has told some in the GOP that Trump and McConnell have urged to appoint himself, according to one Republican who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss private conversations.
Bryant is limited to two terms as governor, and his time in that job ends in January 2020. Bryant cam- paigned for Trump in 2016, and has been to Washington many times in the past year to meet with the president.
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Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor and Lisa Mascaro in Washington and Sarah Mearhoff in Jackson contributed to this report.
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Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus .
Probe nds deadly Niger mission lacked proper approval By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A military investigation into the Niger attack that killed four American service members concludes the team didn’t get required senior command approval for their risky mission to cap- ture a high-level Islamic State militant, several U.S. of cials familiar with the report said. It doesn’t point to that failure as a cause of the deadly ambush.
Initial information suggested the Army Special Forces team set out on its October mission to meet lo- cal Nigerien leaders, only to be redirected to assist a second unit hunting for Doundou Chefou, a militant suspected of involvement in the kidnapping of an American aid worker. Of cials say it now appears the