* FEMA wasted at least $1b in wake of Katrina. [WP]
* Bush, through McClellan, stands by Rumsfeld as former top generals call for his resignation. [WP, WP, NYT]
* 2002 election day phone-jamming scam in New Hampshire becomes “national headache for GOP leaders” and the White House. [WP]
* Judge in leak investigation threatens to instill a gag order on court proceedings. [WP, NYT]
* Americans surveyed prefer Democrats to handle immigration issue; 6 in 10 believe the problem is “very serious.” [NYT]
* Americans want a “leave-us-alone” foreign policy, according to USAT/Gallup poll. [USAT]
* Sen. Chafee (R-R.I.) faces tough primary and general election fights. Chafee: “I’m running for opposite constituencies. It’s impossible.” [WP]
* Sen. McCain visits Iowa. [WP]
* Republicans are eyeing vulnerable Democratic House seats in hopes of maintaining their majority. [NYT]
* Sen. Clinton raised $6m in first quarter; she now has $20m in the bank. [NYT]

* Under the Dome: Reuters will compete with Bloomberg for the hottest White House Correspondents’ Association after-party; theirs will be held at Kstreet. . . Tim Russert, David Gregory, and Sen. Kent Conrad attended the Nationals’ home opener. . . Harper’s taps the Los Angeles Times’ Ken Silverstein as its Washington editor. . . Fred Thompson endorses Sen. Chafee. [The Hill]
* Reliable Source: James Carville, Mary Matalin, Tony Williams, and Eleanor Holmes Norton were also on deck for the Nationals’ opener. . . Steve Carell was in town filming scenes for the sequel of “Bruce Almighty”. . . Jack Valenti is working on his memoirs. [WP]
* Page Six: New documentary aims to take Giuliani down a notch. [NYP]

In a long but interesting article in this morning’s Washington Post that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the Alito nomination, we learn the following: MORE »

* Senate votes 72 to 25 to hold roll call on Samuel Alito’s confirmation today; Sen. Kerry defends his filibuster attempt. [WP, NYT, LAT, WT, USAT]
* Bush will promote alternative fuels and nuclear power in tonight’s State of the Union. Senior official: “What’s interesting about this discussion is that he isn’t talking about oil exploration at home. Nobody wants to get bogged down in those arguments again.” [NYT, USAT]
* 76% of Americans deem health care “an absolute priority” for ‘06 and only 28% support maintaining the current force in Iraq, according to new WSJ-NBC poll. Bush’s approval rating is steady at 39% as leadership and honesty numbers have fallen over the past year; 63% say Democrats lack a “clear agenda.” [WSJ, MSNBC]
* Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) questions Attorney General Alberto Gonzales‘ statements on warrentless eavesdropping. During his confirmation, Gonzales said the practice was “not the policy of the agenda of this president” and offered to tell Congress if that changed. [WP]
* Administration official explains White House strategy on Alito: “Any time they are yelling, preaching, lecturing, and you are cool and calm and breathing deep, you are winning. What that means on television sets where the American people are watching this is, you look good and they look bad. It was the central operating premise.” [NYT]

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• Administration, citing “reasons of practicality and politics,” decided not to intervene early on with federal response to Katrina. Senior administration official: “Can you imagine how it would have been perceived if a president of the United States of one party had pre-emptively taken from the female governor of another party the command and control of her forces, unless the security situation made it completely clear that she was unable to effectively execute her command authority and that lawlessness was the inevitable result?” [NYT]
• Congress readily approves spending for Katrina relief efforts including $51.8b package; deficit likely to hit new record. [WP, WSJ, NYT, USAT]
• Democratic senators and strategists “are weighing whether to save their ammunition for the next nominee, who would succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, often the swing vote on social issues.” [NYT]
• Top FEMA officials lack experience; many were patronage appointments. [WP, LAT]
• Leadership and compassion from Bush is less visible now than after 9/11; approval rating is down to 40% in Pew poll and 42% in Gallup poll think Bush’s response to Katrina was bad or terrible. [NYT, USAT]
• Democrats do not approve of Katrina inquiry proposed by Republicans. [WP, NYT]
• Cheney tours Gulf Coast: “There’s no question there were problems with respect to the evacuation in New Orleans. We’ve gotten around that problem now, and I think everyone’s focused on the future.” [NYT]

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