Political Wire

Archives for May 2017

Hamas Drops Call for Israeli Destruction

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Wall Street Journal: “The Palestinian militant group Hamas dropped its explicit call for Israel’s destruction on Monday, a bid to overhaul its image as the Trump White House explores reviving Middle East peace efforts. Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, also formally accepted in its revised charter the notion of a Palestinian state in territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. But the group didn’t recognize Israel and still expressed an ambition to take over all Israeli territory in the long run.”

“U.S. and Israeli officials said they didn’t see the move as a real change in the approach of Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and other Western governments.”

House GOP Takes Big Gamble on Health Care

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Wall Street Journal: “House GOP leaders hope to corral enough votes on health care by Thursday, since Congress departs for recess next week and Republicans want to begin tackling taxes, another complex issue, when they return.”

“Leaders were tight-lipped Monday night on precisely how many votes short they remain, according to lawmakers leaving a regular meeting of the whip team. Although some lawmakers are still pushing for changes to the bill, others said time had run out. At least 19 House Republicans are currently opposed to the bill, with at least 17 undecided, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of the lawmakers. The GOP can only afford to lose about 22 votes, depending on absences.”

The Hill: “According to The Hill‘s whip list, 22 Republicans oppose the bill — the maximum number of GOP defections that can be afforded — assuming every Democrat also votes against it.”

The New York Times reports there are 20 Republicans opposes and another 21 undecided.

Democrats Confident They Can Block Trump’s Agenda

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“Democrats believe they have set the stage to block President Trump’s legislative priorities for years to come by winning major concessions in a spending bill to keep the government open,” the Washington Post reports.

“Democrats’ lopsided victory on the five-month deal, which is likely to be approved this week, means it will be very difficult — if not impossible — for the GOP to exert its will in future budget negotiations, including when it comes to Trump’s 2018 budget blueprint.”

Politico: Congress claws back power from Trump.

GOP Will Go It Alone on Tax Reform

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“The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are increasingly resigned to a strategy of hammering through tax overhaul legislation by themselves, without the Democrats, reprising the approach that has failed them in their efforts to pass a new health law,” the New York Times reports.

“After House Republicans were unable to gather enough votes to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act in March, President Trump suggested that he would consider making a deal with Democrats, potentially by lumping tax and infrastructure legislation into a giant jobs package. But as Mr. Trump crossed the 100-day benchmark he set for his presidency, it was clear that he is preparing to work solely with Republicans on the first rewriting of the tax code in 30 years.”

Trump Keeps Praising International Strongmen

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“It’s no longer just Vladi­mir Putin. As he settles into office, President Trump’s affection for totalitarian leaders has grown beyond Russia’s president to include strongmen around the globe,” the Washington Post reports.

“In an undeniable shift in American foreign policy, Trump is cultivating authoritarian leaders, one after another, in an effort to reset relations following an era of ostracism and public shaming by Obama and his predecessors.”

Politico: Trump’s warm words for strongmen set off alarms.

Vulnerable Democrats Show Little Fear of Trump

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National Journal: “Instead of veering to the right-as many red-state Democrats have tried with little success in recent years-2018’s most endangered senators have repeatedly voted against Trump’s Cabinet nominees, helped filibuster his Supreme Court pick, and ratcheted up their rhetoric against policies they say hurt the middle class. While these senators still need to win back plenty of Trump voters ahead of the midterms, strategists say the moves reflect a new reality for red-state Democrats. After three election cycles of dormancy, the Democratic base could suddenly play a significant role in their reelections, even in states Trump won handily.”

The Summer White House

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Palm Beach Post: “It appears the president will spend this weekend in New Jersey. When President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club is closed for the season, with brocade curtains hidden behind hurricane shutters and croquet mallets packed away from the pounding sun, the leader of the free world is not likely to spend his weekends at some other tropical paradise.”

“Instead, all indications are that he will make the occasional weekend trip from the White House to his Trump National Golf Club in rural Bedminster, New Jersey. In fact, it looks like Trump is planning to spend his first weekend there as president this coming Friday through Sunday, according to a Federal Aviation Administration notice posted Monday morning.”

Trump Says He’s Considering Breaking Up Big Banks

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President Trump told Bloomberg that he is “actively considering breaking up giant Wall Street banks, giving a push to efforts to revive a Depression-era law separating consumer lending and investment banking.”

Said Trump: “I’m looking at that right now. There’s some people that want to go back to the old system, right? So we’re going to look at that.”

Trump Says He Would Meet North Korea’s Leader

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President Trump told Bloomberg that he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un amid heightened tensions over his country’s nuclear weapons program if the circumstances were right.

Said Trump: “If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it. If it’s under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that.”

The Putin Interviews

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Filmmaker Oliver Stone “has scored the interview so many journalists have been seeking: a sit-down with Russian president Vladimir Putin,” CNN reports.

“The premium cable channel Showtime has secured the television rights to Stone’s finished product, a four-hour documentary called The Putin Interviews.”

Member feature

The Worst Thing the GOP Can Do for 2018

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This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

House Republicans will try again to pass their plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act this week with a possible vote as soon as Wednesday. But if new research by Democratic pollsters is correct, it’s the worst possible thing they can do to keep the Trump coalition intact for the 2018 midterm elections.

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Democrats Now Favored to Pick Up Florida Seat

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Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s (R-FL) retirement “vaults her Miami district to the very top of Democrats’ takeover list,” according to the Cook Political Report.

“Over 27 years in the House, Ros-Lehtinen’s reputation as firmly anti-Castro but strongly pro-gay rights made her highly popular back home, even as FL-27 trended away from the national GOP. Now Democrats will be favored to win the district, where President Trump lost by 20 points.”

Trump Abruptly Cuts Short Interview

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President Trump cut short an interview on “Face the Nation” after being asked about his unsubstantiated claim that President Obama wiretapped his campaign, saying he was entitled to his own “opinions,” the New York Times reports.

Said Trump: “You don’t have to ask me… I have my own opinions. You can have your own opinions.”

With that, Mr. Trump terminated what had been an otherwise genial interview: “O.K., it’s enough.”

Trump Pulls Ad That Violated Campaign Laws

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President Trump’s reelection campaign “quietly took down an ad on Monday that may have skirted federal laws that govern politicking by active-duty U.S. servicemembers,” the Daily Beast reports.

“The 30-second video, which promoted the Trump administration’s accomplishments during its first 100 days, featured b-roll of the president shaking hands with his National Security Advisor, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, just after he accepted the job at Mar-a-Lago.”

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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