Political Wire

Archives for January 2017

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State Department Dissent Gets 1,000 Signatures

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New York Times: “Within hours, a State Department dissent cable, asserting that President Trump’s executive order to temporarily bar citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries would not make the nation safer, traveled like a chain letter — or a viral video.”

“The cable wended its way through dozens of American embassies around the world, quickly emerging as one of the broadest protests by American officials against their president’s policies. And it is not over yet.”

“By 4 p.m. on Tuesday, the letter had attracted around 1,000 signatures, State Department officials said, far more than any dissent cable in recent years. It was being delivered to management, and department officials said more diplomats wanted to add their names to it.”

Trump Picks Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court

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President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to be a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

New York Times: “If confirmed, Judge Gorsuch would restore the 5-to-4 split between liberals and conservatives on the court, handing Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, 80, who votes with both blocs, the swing vote.”

Politico: “Gorsuch is a favorite of legal conservatives because he has sharply questioned a three-decade old legal precedent that many on the right believe has given too much power to the regulatory state.”

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Trump Aides Won’t Appear on CNN

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“The White House has refused to send its spokespeople or surrogates onto CNN shows, effectively icing out the network from on-air administration voices,” Politico reports.

“Administration officials are still answering questions from CNN reporters. But administration officials including White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and senior counselor Kellyanne Conway haven’t appeared on the network’s programming in recent weeks.”

Ayotte Will Guide SCOTUS Pick Through Senate

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“The White House has assembled a team of political veterans with deep experience navigating the Senate to help shepherd President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court,” the Washington Post reports.

“Leading the effort will be former senator Kelly Ayotte, a relatively moderate Republican from New Hampshire… Ayotte will serve as the nominee’s so-called sherpa, personally introducing the pick to senators and escorting him or her to meetings and the confirmation hearing. Ayotte, who narrowly lost reelection last fall, is an unlikely selection by Trump considering she spoke out against his candidacy and was seen as having been on a blacklist for appointments to the new administration.”

Mysterious Intruder Recorded Lawmakers at GOP Retreat

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Washington Post: “Reporters were kept out, and only a few select staffers, family members and outsiders were allowed to participate in the private GOP policy retreat. But at least one unauthorized person made it inside, and while it is unclear to what degree the country’s top leaders were in physical danger, their circle of trust was undoubtedly breached.”

“A person secretly recorded closed sessions on national security and health care that were attended by many dozens of GOP lawmakers. They had gathered for a private discussion of some of the thorniest legislative issues of the moment, as well as a question-and-answer session with Pence.”

A Jarring New Level of Confrontation Hits Washington

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New York Times: “Even after years of unbreakable gridlock and unyielding partisanship, it was a jarring new level of confrontation and conflict, and it was contributing to a building sense of crisis just as the new president was to disclose the identity of a new Supreme Court nominee — a selection certain to further inflame tensions.”

“Republicans, adjusting to the new era, seemed blindsided by the rapid pace of events and the worrying failure of the new administration to engage in the information-sharing and consultation that would typically accompany the issuance of a potentially explosive proposal like the freeze on visas for refugees and immigrants from select countries.”

Democrats Live In the Wrong Places

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This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

Although the 2016 presidential race was decided by roughly 77,000 votes across three states — Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — the reason Hillary Clinton lost the electoral vote while overwhelmingly winning the popular is that Democrats tend to be heavily clustered in just a few states.

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The Death of the Senate

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“President Trump’s first Supreme Court nomination has the potential to do more than reshape the nation’s judicial branch for years to come. It could end the Senate’s long history as the world’s greatest deliberative body,” the Washington Post reports.

“Liberal and conservative activists are girding for a fight that, under current rules, gives Democrats the power to block any court nomination. But in this week’s environment, with Democrats delaying Cabinet nominations and both sides calling each other names largely unheard of in the history of the Senate’s genteel discourse, Republicans could take steps to eliminate that power.”

“If such a showdown occurs, it would be about more than ending Senate tradition of allowing an entrenched minority to stymie legislation and nominees through the filibuster. It would be about forever changing the nature of the Senate, which the founders set up with the express goal to slow down and cool off the hasty and heated impulses more common in the House.”

Why Even Centrist Democrats Want to Shut It Down

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The following post for members is by David T.S. Jonas, a former economic and labor policy aide to Sen. Al Franken (D-MN).

We’re not even two weeks into Donald Trump’s presidency, and nearly every Democrat in the country wants the madness to stop. And quite remarkably, that sentiment is now shared by the most centrist Democrats in Congress.

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Trump Brings Two Supreme Court Finalists to D.C.

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“The two judges who have been considered the top finalists to be President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court — Neil Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman — are being brought to Washington ahead of tonight’s White House announcement,” sources tell CNN.

“The move comes as there were increasing indications that Gorsuch will be Trump’s choice, sources briefed on the White House deliberations tell CNN.”

Why Republicans Are Sticking with Trump

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This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

David Brooks says Republicans have made a Faustian bargain with Donald Trump. They don’t particularly like him, but they’ll work with him in the hopes he’ll help them pass their legislative agenda.

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Le Pen’s Main Rival Hit with Fresh Scandal

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“French presidential candidate Francois Fillon employed two of his children as legislative aides, Le Canard Enchaine newspaper said, adding to the scandal that is starting to surround his election bid,” Bloomberg reports.

“Fillon has been the establishment’s leading candidate in the battle to stop Marine Le Pen’s populist campaign to seize the presidency and lead France out of the euro. Fillon won the Republicans’ primary boasting that he had the irreproachable integrity required to lead the country. While polls show Le Pen leading in the first round of voting, they also suggest that she would lose heavily to any of the main candidates in a run-off.”

Democrats Boycott Votes on Two Trump Nominees

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“In a surprise turn of events, Senate Democrats announced Tuesday morning that they are boycotting a committee vote on two of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees, drawing fury from Republicans across the aisle,” CNN reports.

“The Senate Finance Committee was set to vote on the nominations of Rep. Tom Price to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and Steve Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary. But minutes after the vote was scheduled to take place, Democrats on the panel convened an impromptu news conference to announce that they refused to participate in the proceeding, all as their Republican colleagues were waiting in a hearing room down the hallway.”

Trump Nominee May Have Plagiarized Responses

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“President Trump’s nominee for education secretary, in written responses to questions from senators, appears to have used several sentences and phrases from other sources without attribution — including from a top Obama administration civil rights official,” the Washington Post reports.

“The responses from nominee Betsy DeVos were submitted Monday to the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which is voting Tuesday morning on her confirmation.”

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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