Political Wire

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July 24, 2017

31 posts · Monday

Scaramucci Moves to Purge Disloyal Staff

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“Anthony Scaramucci, the flashy financier President Trump hired to overhaul the White House communications operation, is exercising a broad mandate from the president and intends to follow through on threats to purge aides he believes are disloyal to Trump and leaking to the press,” the Washington Post reports.

“Just four days into the job, Scaramucci has moved into Trump’s inner sanctum and is now described by some colleagues as almost family to the president — in contrast to his predecessor, outgoing press secretary Sean Spicer, who was described more like the help.”

Trump Threatens to Dump Price If Health Bill Fails

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President Trump threatened to fire Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price if Congress does not repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Daily Beast reports.

Said Trump at an event for Boy Scouts: “Are you gonna get the votes? He better get them. He better get them. Oh, he better, otherwise I’ll say, ‘Tom, you’re fired.’ I’ll get somebody.”

Cornyn Floats Conference for Health Care Bills

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Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said the House and Senate might conference their Obamacare repeal-and-replace bills, The Hill reports.

Said Cornyn: “Initially there was some thought that maybe the House would take up the bill that we passed, but that may not be the case.”

“Cornyn’s first problem is getting an Obamacare repeal-and-replace bill through the Senate, something that seems increasingly unlikely.”

Trump Steps Up Talk of Firing Sessions

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President Trump and his advisers “are privately discussing the possibility of replacing Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and some confidants are floating prospects who could take his place were he to resign or be fired, according to people familiar with the talks,” the Washington Post reports.

“Members of Trump’s circle, including White House officials, have increasingly raised the question among themselves in recent days as the president has continued to vent his frustration with the attorney general.”

Associated Press: “He has speculated aloud to allies in recent days about the potential consequences of firing Sessions, according to three people who have recently spoken to the president. They demanded anonymity to discuss private conversations.”

Republicans Try to Get McCain Back for Vote

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“Senate Republicans are still hoping John McCain makes it to Tuesday’s crucial Obamacare repeal vote,” Politico reports.

“The absence of the Arizona senator, who was diagnosed with brain cancer last week, has made getting 50 votes to start debate on the bill exceedingly difficult. GOP leaders are hoping he can surprise everyone and return Tuesday.”

Said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): “They were trying to get approval [from his doctors] for his travel arrangements. I’ve personally volunteered to rent an RV. But we haven’t heard anything.”

The Death of Expertise

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James Hohmann: “Trump has repeatedly dismissed the knowledge and wisdom of experts while elevating nonexperts who lack relevant experience into important jobs across the federal government. This gets less attention than other story lines, but it has been a hallmark of the president’s first six months in power.”

A relevant book: The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters by Tom Nichols.

Tillerson Mulls Quitting After Trump Bashes Sessions

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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is growing increasingly frustrated with the Trump administration and could quit before the year is through, Newsweek reports.

“Two sources familiar with Tillerson’s conversations with friends told CNN over the weekend that he has grown so frustrated with President Trump and his administration that there may soon be a ‘Rexit.'”

“Trump publicly assailed one of Tillerson’s fellow Cabinet members, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, saying he regretted hiring him. Tillerson, the sources said, viewed Trump’s comments as unprofessional.”

Problem for GOP Is Clinton Won’t Be Ballot Next Year

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Harry Enten: “Clinton’s unpopularity turned out to be a key factor in 2016 congressional races. Unsurprisingly, people who had a favorable view of Clinton primarily voted for Democrats in House races, while people with a favorable view of Trump primarily voted for Republican candidates. But among the 19 percent of voters who had an unfavorable view of both presidential candidates, House Republican candidates won by a margin of 30 percentage points.”

“Next year, though, Clinton won’t be on the ballot (although Trump continues to tweet about her). That could be a big problem for House Republican candidates, especially if Trump remains unpopular. That’s because realistically, the only way for Democrats to take back the House is to run up huge margins among voters who don’t like Trump.”

Lawmaker Blames ‘Repugnant’ GOP Women for Stalled Bill

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When discussing the stalled GOP effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) told a Texas radio station that he finds it “absolutely repugnant” that “the Senate does not have the courage to do some of the things that every Republican in the Senate promised to do.”

Said Farenhold: “Some of the people that are opposed to this — there are some female senators from the northeast. If it was a guy from south Texas I might ask them to step outside and settle this Aaron Burr-style.”

Research Shows Gender Attacks on Women Work

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From a new research paper:

The results suggest that female candidates are particularly vulnerable to trait based attacks that challenge stereotypically feminine strengths. Both male and female candidates proved vulnerable to attacks on policy issues stereotypically associated with their party and gender, but the negative effects of all forms of stereotype-based attacks were especially large for democratic women.

White House Will Allow On-Camera Briefings Again

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New White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci announced that the daily press briefings would be back on camera.

Axios: “Friday’s White House press briefing, following Sean Spicer’s resignation, was the first on-camera briefing since late June, and the tweet indicates that Scaramucci will revert to the tradition of televising daily briefings. It’s not surprising given his longstanding love of TV.”

About Political Wire

Taegan 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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