Hurricane Ian is set to reach Florida’s Gulf Coast as early as this afternoon after days of dire warnings about its potential impacts. This morning, the national Hurricane Center said winds had reached 140 mph, strengthening to a Category 4. 

More than 2 million people are under orders to leave their homes. Said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: “That doesn’t mean you need to go all across God’s creation to evacuate — just get to the higher ground and get into a safe structure.”

And he’s been the de facto decision-maker for the Senate Democratic majority, but after a week of holding the line, Sen. Joe Manchin had to admit defeat Tuesday — for now. 

The West Virginia senator was dead-set on passing a permitting overhaul for energy projects this month, by tying the legislation to a must-pass spending stopgap. Manchin world was convinced the time was right for action, with fresh buy-in from Democratic leaders, combined with long-standing support for the notion of permitting reform among Republicans.

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