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WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Nearly three years before the 2016 election, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker took center stage in Iowa to address a large Republican fundraising dinner, which should only fuel speculation about his future presidential ambitions.

Walker, who survived a bitter recall effort in his home state in 2011 after he repealed collective bargaining rights for most public employees, emphasized his Iowa roots at a county dinner, and said the GOP should look to its roster of governors for a leader in the future.

“We should look to our states, to our governors, to our state legislative leaders to show the pathway we take not only in our states but in our country to move forward,” the Wisconsin governor told more than 600 people in attendance at the annual Polk County GOP dinner. “Optimism, relevance, and courage I think are the three keys to success in 2014, 2016 and beyond.”

The first-term governor, who is up for re-election in 2014, has pushed a reformist message for fellow Republicans (similar to the themes he stressed during speeches at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference as well as the National Rifle Association's annual meeting).

Those themes assume a greater significance, though, in Iowa, the state which hosts the first presidential nominating contest every four years. 

“The president and his allies they simply measure success by how many people are dependent on the government, how many people are on Medicaid, food stamps, unemployment compensation,” Walker said. “We should measure success by how many people are not.”

Walker's work to curb collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin, a stronghold of organized labor, has made him a hero among conservatives — and boosted his prospects as a dark horse contender for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016.

“If I wanted to lay the groundwork for a presidential run in Iowa, I would be doing precisely what Gov. Walker is doing right now,” Republican activist Dave Funk said.

If Walker does decide to run for president, he has clear advantages in Iowa. He lived in northeastern Iowa when he was young -- mentioning during the speech that he stopped in Plainfield on his way to Des Moines tonight. He also represents a neighboring state, something which Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad thinks gives Walker an edge in the Hawkeye State.

“I think he might do well. He is a Midwesterner. He is a problem solver. He is a grassroots, down to earth guy that I think the kind of people Iowans like,” Branstad told reporters prior to the dinner.

Previous speakers at the Robb Kelley Club Annual Spring Dinner have included Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich – both of whom ran for president in 2012.

But Walker downplayed the implications of his speech in Iowa – chalking it up to simply repaying a favor.

“Brandstad's a good friend of mine,” Walker told NBC’s Milwaukee affiliate WTMJ Thursday morning. “He did an event for me last year when I was running in the recall election. He, like other Governors across the country, have asked me to attend events and sparingly where I can occasionally I go to some and this is one of those."

Other potential 2016 presidential candidates have been sure to include Iowa on their list of places to stop. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., spoke at the Republican Party of Iowa’s Lincoln Dinner in Cedar Rapid’s earlier this month, and former Pennsylvania senator and 2012 Iowa Caucus winner Rick Santorum is scheduled to speak in August at the Lyon County GOP Dinner. 

This story was originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 11:05 PM EDT

Lois Lerner, the IRS official who oversees the agency’s division in charge of tax-exempt organizations, has been placed on administrative leave, a source told NBC News on Thursday. The IRS has selected Ken Corbin as acting director during Lerner's absence.

Lerner, whose responsibility for the targeting of conservative groups at the IRS has become a point of scrutiny in the controversy, had come under bipartisan fire. Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz., wrote acting IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel earlier on Thursday seeking Lerner’s suspension.

Lerner had appeared before a House committee on Wednesday, but invoked her Fifth Amendment rights, and declined to testify. She offered a broad declaration denying any wrongdoing, however, which has prompted some Republicans to conclude she had effectively waived her Fifth Amendment rights. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who heads the oversight panel before which Lerner appeared, suggested Thursday he’ll seek to recall her as a witness.

This story was originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 5:52 PM EDT

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) will resign from Congress later this summer to take a position with the University of Alabama system, according to two Republican sources, setting up a likely competitive primary to replace him in the safe GOP seat.

Bonner’s retirement was first reported by the Mobile Press-Register.

A former House Ethics committee chairman, Bonner was first elected to Congress from the Mobile district in 2002. Bonner had worked his way up to chief of staff for his predecessor, Rep. Sonny Callahan, and was easily elected to replace him when he retired.

Bonner will step down Aug. 15 for a newly created job as vice chancellor of government relations and economic development at the University of Alabama system.

"I trust you know that serving as your congressman this past decade has truly been one of the highest honors of my life," Bonner said in a statement to constituents. 

The first district is solidly Republican, and voted 62 percent for Mitt Romney in 2012 and just 37 percent for President Obama. Bonner didn’t even face a Democratic challenger last year, and this isn’t a race the national party would look to play in.

Republican Gov. Robert Bentley has a wide purview to set the special election to replace Bonner. According to state election law, “all special elections shall be held on such day as the Governor may direct.”

A crowded GOP primary and subsequent runoff is expected. Potential candidates, according to Republican sources, could include former state Sen. Bradley Byrne, who lost the 2010 gubernatorial primary to Bentley; businessman Dean Young, who got 25% against Bonner in last year’s primary; and state Sens. Trip Pittman, Bill Hightower and Rusty Glover. 

Bonner said he "was not looking for another job" and that the opportunity "was both unexpected and certainly unsolicited."

"I also firmly believe there are many ways you can serve your state and nation without having your name on a ballot," Bonner continued. "That said, while I had every intention of completing this term, sometimes opportunities come along that are so rare – and so special – that it forces you to alter even your best-made plans."

In 2011, the head of government relations at Alabama made $217,016. As a congressman, Bonner makes $174,000.

Republicans’ quest for more women elected officials on their side continues today, with the Republican State Leadership Committee’s re-launch of its program aimed at electing more women down-the-ballot.

RSLC Chairman Ed Gillespie, a former national party chairman, announced new leadership as well. Tennessee Speaker Beth Harwell, Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman, Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi will serve as co-chairs of the so-called “Right Women, Right Now” initiative.

“We believe that one of the ways to grow our Republican Party is to create a strong pipeline of diverse leaders to put some new voices on the escalator to higher office,” Gillespie said on a call with reporters. “The first steps of that are these state offices.”

The Republican National Committee identified electing more women at the national level as a priority in its December “Growth & Opportunity” report. Gillespie and the co-chairs of the group emphasized what they said was their program’s success in states. Recruiters identified 185 new Republican women candidates and 84 statewide elected officials.

“Right Women” dedicated more than $5 million last cycle to identify, support, and train women for offices from lieutenant governor on down. In particular, the program helps with messaging and fundraising.

Wyman won her race in blue Washington by less than a percentage point, and said that she couldn’t have done it without the RSLC.

“They really supported me and my candidacy with resources that helped secure my win,” she said. “‘Right Women, Right Now’ really helped put my candidacy over the edge.”

Bondi, in her new role as co-chair, promised “unprecedented” resources for the program and said that specific metrics, in terms of cash and candidates, will be set and rolled out in the coming months.

President Barack Obama was repeatedly interrupted by a heckler whose taunts slowed the delivery of a major national security speech in the Washington, D.C. area.

The unidentified heckler began shouting at the president toward the tail end of his highly-anticipated address, when he touched upon U.S. policy toward detainees suspected of terrorist acts.

Obama was forced to pause three separate times and talk over the protester, interrupting the flow of the closing section of the speech at National Defense University.

“I'm about to address it ma'am, but you've got to let me speak,” Obama scolded the woman. “Why don't you sit down and let me tell you exactly what I'd do."

The antiwar group Code Pink, which often interrupts high-profile political events with vocal protests against U.S. foreign policy and national security strategy, said its founder Medea Benjamin was the person responsible for the interruption.

Though the president appeared somewhat irritated by the interruption, he said he was willing to cut the woman “some slack, because it’s worth being passionate about.”

He added after another interruption: “The voice of that woman is worth paying attention to. Obviously I do not agree with much of what she said. And obviously she wasn’t listening to me and much of what I said. But these are tough issues, and the suggestion that we can gloss over them is wrong.”

Thursday wasn’t the only instance in which Obama was interrupted during a high-profile speech. During remarks last year about immigration at the White House, a conservative reporter, Neil Munro, heckled the president with a question about the impact of his announcement that day.

This story was originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 3:06 PM EDT

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid indicated Thursday that he may postpone a confrontation with Republicans over stalled nominations until after the Senate considers the bipartisan immigration bill that the Judiciary Committee OK’d Tuesday.

“I am not going to do anything to interfere with the immigration bill,” he said.

At issue was the so-called “nuclear option,” a possible move by Reid and the Democrats to unilaterally curb filibusters by a simple majority vote, instead of by 67 votes as required by Senate rules.

Reid charged at a press conference Thursday that Republican foot-dragging had delayed or blocked confirmation of several key Obama nominees, with Republican senators submitting more than 1,100 written questions to Gina McCarthy, Obama’s choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

McCarthy, Labor Secretary nominee Tom Perez, consumer financial watchdog Richard Cordray,  and five nominees to the National Labor Relations Board are awaiting confirmation.

“Presidents need to have the team they want when they want them – and this is not working” Reid said told reporters. “It is time for this gridlock to end – that is my message.” He added, “There are no threats – we simply want the Senate to work the way that it should.” 

He added later, “We’re not threatening anybody with anything.”

But Sen. Charles Schumer, D- N.Y. argued that “the public would be happy to hear that the Senate is changing the way it is doing business. So the other side (the Republicans) must be careful – if they think they can win a debate over whether the Senate should change its rules, they might very well be mistaken.”

In a big victory for Obama, the Senate unanimously voted Thursday to confirm Sri Srinivasan to serve on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Senate Republican Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R- Ky. indicated Wednesday that Republicans supported Srinivasan, a lawyer who has served in the Solicitor General’s office in both the Bush and Obama administrations, calling him "a nominee we all agree on.... We like him."

Discussing Srinivasan, Schumer smiled as he said to reporters, “We may be seeing him coming before the Senate again soon,” – a reference to speculation that Obama might nominate Srinivasan to the Supreme Court if a vacancy occurs. 

But looming in the weeks ahead is a potentially incendiary standoff over what many Democrats are urging: a change in Senate rules to end filibusters of nominees.

In 2005, Senate Republicans threatened to use the “nuclear option” after Democrats blocked votes on nominees to the federal courts by President George W. Bush. The roles were reversed in 2005 with Democrats supporting filibusters of nominee and Republicans accusing them of obstructionism. Eventually the two sides settled their dispute and allowed several Bush nominees to be confirmed to the federal bench.

Reid reminisced Wednesday about the agreement that Democrats had struck with Republicans on confirming those nominees. He said, “We agreed to put some people on the bench that we have regretted since then -- Janice Rogers Brown, Thomas Griffith, Brett Kavanaugh” – all of whom are judges now serving on the D.C. Circuit appeals court.

This story was originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 1:42 PM EDT

NBC's Domenico Montanaro looks at the day in politics. The focus is President Obama's speech on America's use of drones. But there's some campaign news, too, with Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., in Iowa and ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., making his first campaign stop in his bid for mayor of New York.

Obama to scale back his administration’s drone policy… Also expected in his 2:00 pm ET national security speech: better securing diplomatic facilities and stating his desire to close Gitmo… About that Holder letter… WaPo on the White House trying to shield Obama from IRS investigation… Cruz: “I don’t trust the Republicans”… Scott Walker heads to the Hawkeye State… And Happy (upcoming) Memorial Day weekend.

Pool / Getty Images

President Barack Obama delivers remarks at a concert honoring singer-songwriter Carole King with the 2013 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at the White House on May 22, 2013.

*** Obama to scale back drone policy: In his first major national security speech of his second term, President Obama today is expected to both defend -- but also announce changes to -- his administration’s use of drones to kill suspected terrorists and foreign enemies. “A new classified policy guidance signed by Mr. Obama will sharply curtail the instances when unmanned aircraft can be used to attack in places that are not overt war zones, countries like Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia,” the New York Times reports. “The rules will impose the same standard for strikes on foreign enemies now used only for American citizens deemed to be terrorists” -- i.e., force can be used against targets who are 1) an imminent threat against Americans, and 2) cannot be feasibly captured. The Times also says that the Obama administration will shift control of drone strikes from the CIA to the U.S. military. “The significance is the Pentagon will now control the drone program, which increases transparency both for Congress and the American people,” NBC terrorism analyst Roger Cressey said on “TODAY” this morning.

*** What’s also expected in the speech: A White House official, per NBC’s Shawna Thomas, says that the president’s speech also will discuss better securing U.S. diplomatic facilities (after the 2012 Benghazi attack), balancing security while protecting civil liberties at home (see the leak investigations), and stating his desire to close the Guantanamo Bay prison (an action which Congress opposes). Don’t be surprised if Obama says something along the lines of, “We will never send another detainee to Gitmo” as a way to express his willingness to close the facility. And don’t be surprised if he addresses -- head on -- the Justice Department’s seizure of reporters’ phone records in its prosecution of national security leaks. Obama delivers his remarks at 2:00 pm ET at the National Defense University in DC.

*** About that Holder letter: Obama’s remarks come a day after Attorney General Eric Holder released a letter acknowledging -- for the first time by the administration -- that four American citizens were killed in U.S. drone strikes. NBC’s Pete Williams says the letter discloses what had been widely reported and known: that three citizens were killed in counter-terrorism operations, including Anwar al Awlaki. The letter also gives the legal justification for those drone strikes. And finally, Williams adds, it discloses the death of an additional U.S. citizen, Jude Kenan Mohammed, who was indicted by a federal grand jury in North Carolina for taking part in a plot to stage a terror attack against US military targets. Speaking of drones, the Feb. 2013 NBC/WSJ poll found that 64% of Americans favored using them to target suspected members of Al Qaeda and other terrorists, while 12% opposed and another 22% didn’t have an opinion. And in a separate question, 42% said the program should be continued, and 28% said it should be changed or modified.

*** The Shield: Turning from national security to the domestic/political controversies hitting the Obama administration, the Washington Post notes what we did yesterday about the IRS story -- that the White House’s top goal was to ensure that Obama had nothing to do with it. “This account of how the White House tried to deal with the IRS inquiry … shows how carefully Obama’s top aides were trying to shield him from any second-term scandal that might swamp his agenda or, worse, jeopardize his presidency.” The Post story also reveals that the White House brought in many of the old hands to manage the P.R. relating to the inspector general’s report. “Late last week, [White House Chief of Staff Denis] McDonough summoned Plouffe and a cadre of former Obama and Clinton advisers — including Stephanie Cutter, Robert Gibbs, Anita Dunn, Paul Begala and Mike McCurry — to the White House for two separate public relations strategy sessions. White House aides said they urged getting out information about the IRS situation as quickly as possible, and provided advice on refocusing attention on Obama’s jobs agenda.”

*** Cruz: “I don’t trust the Republicans”: Here’s something you don’t see every day: A U.S. senator announcing, on the Senate floor, that he doesn’t trust his own party. Of course, in his first few months in office, Ted Cruz isn’t your average senator. “The senior senator from Arizona urged this body to trust the Republicans,” Cruz said, per Politico referring to Sen. John McCain in the debate over whether to go to conference in the budget negotiations. “Let me be clear, I don’t trust the Republicans. I don’t trust the Democrats and I think a whole lot of Americans likewise don’t trust the Republicans or the Democrats because it is leadership in both parties that has got us into this mess.”

*** Scott Walker heads to the Hawkeye State: Meanwhile, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker today travels to Iowa, where he addresses the Polk County, IA GOP dinner that begins at 7:00 pm ET. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Walker could very well be the most significant 2016er on the GOP side that no one is talking about right now. There is A LOT of room for a presidential candidate who hails from outside of Washington.

*** State shopping isn’t the best policy for success: Don’t miss the piece on the “Daily Rundown” site about how politicians who run for office in one state and then another usually don’t have that much success.

*** Happy Memorial Day: Lastly, to get an early start on the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, your morning First Read note won’t be publishing on Friday. We’ll return on Tuesday. Happy Memorial Day!!!

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*** Thursday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up: Guest host Richard Lui interviews Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) about the West Point Bathroom Cam scandal.  Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) joins to discuss the fallout from the IRS scandal.  “My Two Moms” Author Zach Wahls joins to discuss the Boy Scouts Vote on banning gay scouts.  And Today’s Power Panel includes Mother Jones reporter Kate Sheppard, ThinkProgress Editor-in-Chief Judd Legum and The Root Contributing Editor Corey Dade. 

*** Thursday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include former Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt, former Obama administration economist Jared Bernstein, Demos’ Heather McGhee, and MSNBC.com’s Richard Wolffe.

*** Thursday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews Rep. Peter King (D-NY), former Defense Dept. General Counsel Jeh Johnson, former State Department Official PJ Crowley, Oklahoma Secy. of Safety and Security Michael Thompson, NBC’s Pete Williams and Craig Melvin, Miami Herald’s Carol Rosenberg and USA Today’s Susan Page.

“President Barack Obama on Thursday is expected to address some of the thornier aspects of national security policy, including drone strikes, the prison at Guantanamo Bay and the dire threats Americans continue to face — even from fellow citizens,” AP writes. “On the eve of the president’s speech at the National Defense University, the Obama administration revealed for the first time that a fourth American citizen had been killed in secretive drone strikes abroad. The killings of three other Americans in counterterror operations since 2009 were known before a letter from Attorney General Eric Holder to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy acknowledged the four deaths.”

As for what Obama will say: “Obama’s speech is expected to reaffirm his national security priorities — from homegrown terrorists to killer drones to the enemy combatants held at the military-run detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — but make no new sweeping policy announcements.”

The New York Times: “President Obama plans to open a new phase in the nation’s long struggle with terrorism on Thursday by restricting the use of unmanned drone strikes that have been at the heart of his national security strategy and shifting control of them away from the C.I.A. to the military.”

Political Wire: “The Obama administration is set to restart transfers of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ‘kick-starting a long-stalled drive to close the prison,’ the Wall Street Journal reports.”

“The economy is recovering, the White House is dealing with multiple controversies, and President Barack Obama appears generally unaffected either way,” AP writes. “Several recent polls show the president sustaining an overall approval rating around 50 percent, with no major uptick from gains in housing, jobs and the stock market, and no downtick from the recent storms over the terror attack in Benghazi, Libya, the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS and a leak investigations that has swept up the phone records of Associated Press journalists. The data suggests the economy could be insulating Obama from the immediate troubles confronting his administration. But it also indicates that while a growing number of those surveyed are more optimistic about the economy, they are evenly split on whether they approve or disapprove of his handling of it.”

Time has Obama prom photos from 1979 when he was 17.

Politico: “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is waging an under-the-radar campaign to get his fellow Democrats to back a summertime fight to overhaul the filibuster for executive branch nominees.

Reid is carrying a list of names to target and has met with about two dozen Democrats on the issue thus far, focusing on ‘Old Bull’ senators and skeptics of rules changes, according to senators and aides familiar with the talks.”

More than 100 conservative economists have signed on to a letter urging Congressional leaders to pass comprehensive immigration reform, citing the overhaul's projected impact on economic growth and deficit reduction, per NBC’s Carrie Dann and Ali Weinberg. "Immigration reform’s positive impact on population growth, labor force growth, housing, and other markets will lead to more rapid economic growth," writes the group in a letter spearheaded by former Congressional Budget Office director and  American Action Forum president Douglas Holtz-Eakin. 

“Seven million college students are on track to see their federal loan rates double this year unless Congress acts ahead of a July 1 deadline when subsidized Stafford loan rates will increase from 3.4% to 6.8%,” USA Today writes. “The U.S. House will vote Thursday on a Republican plan to head off the increase inspired by an unlikely source: President Obama. … In his 2014 budget, the president called for tying college loan rates determined by the federal government to market-based interest rates, which is the foundation of a GOP proposal. But that is where the similarities stop, and the partisan divides begin to emerge.”

Amb. Thomas Pickering, who authored the Accountability Review Board investigation into the aftermath of Benghazi, has agreed to a transcribed pre-hearing interview with the House Oversight Committee. Chairman Darrell Issa had wanted a private deposition. Pickering wanted a public hearing.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) thinks HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is like Ollie North, who helped provide arms from Iran to Nicaragua.

National Journal: “In 2000, Ted Cruz was known only as a Texas-raised, Harvard-trained domestic policy adviser to the George W. Bush campaign. … Cruz helped craft the campaign’s immigration policy, which called for speeding up the application process, increasing the number of work visas, and allowing the relatives of permanent residents to visit the U.S. while their applicants were pending.”

More: “The route Cruz chose, from working on the reform-minded Bush campaign to voting against the bill Wednesday as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, confounds some of those who crossed paths with him. His role on the Bush campaign is a lesser-known part of the biography of a politician increasingly viewed as a potential presidential contender in 2016.”

Cruz yesterday said he didn’t “trust Republicans” or Democrats. He wants to hold the line on the debt ceiling.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus thinks there’s a double standard in the Obama administration leak investigations. “Where’s the investigation of the leaks surrounding the killing of Osama bin Laden?” he asks in an op-ed in Politico. He contends: “Releasing classified information is, of course, a serious matter. But if preventing leaks is the administration’s chief priority, why do they operate with two different sets of rules? Why do they act differently when leaks are convenient for them or perpetuate a desired narrative or burnish their public image?”

And yet, there was this… The Washington Post: “Federal investigators looking into disclosures of classified information about a cyberoperation that targeted Iran’s nuclear program have increased pressure on current and former senior government officials suspected of involvement, according to people familiar with the investigation.”

COLORADO: Tom Tancredo (R) is going to announce that he’s running for governor today on a conservative talk radio show. Why? The Denver Post: “Tancredo, a Republican, referred to Gov. John Hickenlooper’s decision on Wednesday to grant a temporary reprieve on the execution of death row inmate Nathan Dunlap. Dunlap was convicted of killing four people at an Aurora Chuck E. Cheese in 1993. Several Republicans castigated Hickenlooper on Wednesday for the move that halts Dunlap’s date with death that was scheduled for August.”

PENNSYLVANIA: EMILY’s List has endorsed Allyson Schwartz for governor of Pennsylvania.