Daily Archives

July 27, 2017

35 posts · Thursday

Military Says Transgender People Can Still Serve for Now

July 27, 2017 at 12:44 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The military’s policy permitting transgender individuals to serve remains in place, the country’s highest military officer said, clarifying some of the confusion surrounding President Trump’s announcement on Twitter that transgender people would no longer be accepted or allowed in the military,” according to the New York Times.

“In a letter to the military service chiefs, Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the policy on who is allowed to serve will not change until the White House sends the Defense Department a rules change and the secretary of defense issues new guidelines.”

Raising Trump

July 27, 2017 at 12:04 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Out this fall: Raising Trump by Ivana Trump.

Democrats Have Record Number of House Challengers

July 27, 2017 at 11:28 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Brookings: “As of the end of June, 209 Democratic challengers had registered with the FEC and raised at least $5,000. That more than doubled the previous high mark since 2003. In 2009, the Republicans had 78 challengers with at least $5,000. The early GOP challengers in 2009 foreshadowed the party’s regaining majority control. The question is whether the same will hold true for the Democrats in 2018.”

“The number of challengers at six months is truly remarkable. And the candidates are not simply bunching up in a few primaries. Yes, there is some doubling up: six Democrats have filed so far against John Faso in New York’s 19^th congressional district. But there is also a good spread. So far, 105 different Republican incumbents have Democratic challengers with $5,000.”

Republicans Still Working on ‘Skinny Repeal’ Bill

July 27, 2017 at 10:59 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

David Nather: “Senate Republicans don’t just have to write a ‘skinny repeal’ bill that can get at least 50 Republicans. They also have to write one that meets their savings targets under budget “reconciliation” rules — and they’re not there yet, as of this morning. The Congressional Budget Office estimates released yesterday suggest that the bill, at least as originally described, could be as much as $55 billion short of the savings target, according to Loren Adler, a budget expert at the Brookings Institution.”

“That’s likely a major reason we haven’t seen a bill yet, with the Senate ‘vote-a-rama’ scheduled to start tonight.”

Quote of the Day

July 27, 2017 at 10:46 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“As a general rule, I haven’t found nasty ad hominem attacks on a person whose cooperation is needed to help your state especially helpful.”

— Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), quoted by the New York Times, on why he refuses to personally attack President Trump.

The Wheels Are Coming Off the White House

July 27, 2017 at 9:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

First Read: “Accusations of incompetency can undermine even the most talented of politicians. Just ask George W. Bush (Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina) or Barack Obama (HealthCare.Gov).”

“But while the events and news over the last 24 hours seem like just another day for the Trump White House, they expose a level of dysfunction and chaos that could leave a lasting mark for a president who said back in February that he was running a ‘fine-tuned machine.'”

“The whole point of electing a businessman to become president was expecting someone to effectively run the government. But what happens when that businessman can’t run the government? That’s the significant long-term danger for Trump and his administration.”

No Ads In Support of GOP Health Care Effort

July 27, 2017 at 9:22 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

NBC News: “The Republican senators whose votes are crucial to the fate of health care in America have faced a $15 million barrage of TV advertising from outside groups opposing the GOP legislation — and no air cover from any group backing the bills.”

“According to ad-buying tracker Advertising Analytics, groups opposing the GOP health care push have spent $14.8 million since May on TV ads targeting 13 key senators, with even more ad buys rolling in daily as the debate in the Senate reaches fever pitch. No groups have run ads in those states in support of the ever-evolving Republican legislation to repeal and replace parts or all of Obamacare.”

Don’t Count Trump Out In Standoff Over Sessions

July 27, 2017 at 9:16 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

Republican lawmakers are finally standing up to Trump.

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Scaramucci Takes Feud with Priebus to TV

July 27, 2017 at 8:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci called into CNN this morning saying that leakers “would have been hung for these leaks 150 years ago” while leaving no doubt that he blames White House chief of staff Reince Preibus for leaking his financial disclosure forms.

Said Scaramucci: “The fish stinks from the head.”

While Scaramucci has described Preibus as “his brother,” he told CNN that “some brothers are like Cain and Abel.”

Of course, Cain murdered Abel.

Clinton’s New Book Will Be Called ‘What Happened’

July 27, 2017 at 7:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Hillary Clinton’s forthcoming memoir now has a title: What Happened.

“In the past, for reasons I try to explain, I’ve often felt I had to be careful in public, like I was up on a wire without a net. Now I’m letting my guard down.”

Final Senate Health Care Bill Still Not Finished

July 27, 2017 at 7:49 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sam Baker: “We’re hours away from a series of votes that will culminate, we think, with a brand-new bill to repeal part of the Affordable Care Act. Of course, no one’s seen it. Senate Republicans don’t know where they’re headed, but they’re putting the pedal to the metal to get there.”

“The Senate’s health-care process (such as it is) is somehow both a flat circle in which everything we have done, we will do over and over and over again forever; and a rushing river that’s never the same from one second to the next, in which it’s barely possible to keep your head above water.”

For members: How the GOP Health Care Push Ends

Trump Threatens Alaska Over Murkowski’s Vote

July 27, 2017 at 7:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump “isn’t going to just let Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) no vote on Tuesday’s health care motion go,” the Alaska Dispatch News reports.

“Early Wednesday, Trump took to Twitter to express displeasure with Murkowski’s vote. By that afternoon, each of Alaska’s two Republican senators had received a phone call from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke letting them know the vote had put Alaska’s future with the administration in jeopardy.”

David Nather: “If true — White House and Interior Department spokespeople didn’t respond to the paper’s requests for comment — it would be an unusually blunt retaliation for a senator’s vote. And it raises questions about whether other GOP senators will get the same treatment.”

Scaramucci Sends Priebus a Message

July 27, 2017 at 7:17 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Just after Politico reported that financial disclosure forms from White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci show he may profit from his ownership in an investment firm despite moving to the White House, Scaramucci tweeted:

“In light of the leak of my financial disclosure info which is a felony. I will be contacting @FBI and the @TheJusticeDept #Swamp @Reince45…”

Ryan Lizza: “In case there’s any ambiguity in his tweet I can confirm that Scaramucci wants the FBI to investigate Reince for leaking.”

Washington Post: “Some in White House are trying to build a case that Priebus is a leaker — ‘a diagram’ charting leaks, per senior official — to show Trump.”

Apparently unknown to Scaramucci: His financial disclosure is a public document.

Bannon Wants to Tax Top Earners at 44%

July 27, 2017 at 7:16 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s plan to raise the top income-tax rate for America’s highest earners could find some support among congressional Republicans as part of a populist message to sell a broader tax overhaul,” Bloomberg reports.

“Bannon supports paying for middle-class tax cuts with a new top rate of 44% for those who make more than $5 million a year, according to a person familiar with his thinking. The lawmaker, who asked not to be named because discussions are private, said the rate pitched was 42%, which would be acceptable to some conservatives, as long as it’s coupled with a low corporate rate and other changes like repealing the alternative minimum tax. The current top individual rate is 39.6%.”

Conservatives Look to Take On City Hall

July 27, 2017 at 7:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“For decades, a well-funded conservative group has helped state lawmakers across the U.S. write legislation to rein in unions, expand charter schools and lower taxes,” the AP reports.

“Now, it’s expanding to the final frontier: normally nonpartisan city halls and county governments, which have become a bastion of liberal resistance to President Trump.”

U.S. Wants to Test Iran Deal with Inspections

July 27, 2017 at 7:05 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration is pushing for inspections of suspicious Iranian military sites in a bid to test the strength of the nuclear deal that President Trump desperately wants to cancel,” the AP reports.

“The inspections are one element of what is designed to be a more aggressive approach to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. While the Trump administration seeks to police the existing deal more strictly, it is also working to fix what Trump’s aides have called ‘serious flaws’ in the landmark deal that — if not resolved quickly — will likely lead Trump to pull out.”

White House Feuding with Treasury Over Tax Plan

July 27, 2017 at 7:02 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The White House is eager to present a unified front on tax reform, but those leading the effort inside the administration haven’t been able to bridge deep fissures over how much to cut taxes and the best way to pay for it,” Politico reports.

“The White House’s top tax staffer, Shahira Knight, who works for Gary Cohn at the National Economic Council, has feuded in the last few months with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and other Treasury officials.”

“This comes as the administration and congressional leaders prepare to unveil a broad-brush tax proposal, weeks ahead of schedule, as a way to pivot from the grinding debate over health care — and to show movement on an issue significant to the business community before Congress adjourns for its August recess.”