Daily Archives

September 2, 2017

10 posts · Saturday

13-Year Old Runs for Vermont Governor

September 2, 2017 at 6:29 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A candidate for governor in Vermont is too young to vote, but he’s not too young to run,” the Boston Globe reports.

“Thirteen-year-old Ethan Sonneborn tells the Burlington Free Press that he can run because Vermont is one of two states without age restrictions. He’s currently collecting 500 signatures of registered voters, a requirement for the Vermont ballot.”

“He acknowledges he’s struggled to get Democratic Party officials to take him seriously and that campaigning will be difficult during school. But he’s undeterred. He says he’d rather lose the election and get visibility than lose quietly.”

Long List of Democrats Have 2020 on Their Minds

September 2, 2017 at 6:01 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “In interviews, more than three dozen leading Democratic donors, fund-raisers and operatives agreed that it was the earliest start they had ever seen to the jockeying that typically precedes the official kickoff to the campaign for the party’s presidential nomination. It is a reflection of the deep antipathy toward President Trump among Democrats, and the widespread belief that the right candidate could defeat him, but also of the likelihood that the contest for the nomination could be the longest, most crowded and most expensive in history.”

“Well before most candidates will announce they are running and publicly plead for support from voters, as many as 20 prospective Democratic candidates are taking steps that could lay the financial foundation for a campaign, even if actually running turns out to be only a transitory thought.”

Pence Linked to Decision to Fire James Comey

September 2, 2017 at 5:37 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

This is a pretty big deal: Vice President Mike Pence knew of and was involved in the decision to fire FBI Director James Comey in May.

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Trump Mulls Ending South Korea Trade Pact

September 2, 2017 at 5:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump is considering withdrawing from the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, sources tell Axios.

“Administration sources have cautioned that no decision has been made, but the leaking of these deliberations has startled many in the U.S. business and pro-trade communities, who were under the impression that KORUS withdrawal was not in the cards for 2017.”

“More than $100 billion of annual trade between U.S. and Korea in goods — and billions more in services — hangs in the balance as Trump weighs this decision. Withdrawing from the trade deal would also damage relations between the U.S. and a key ally in Asia at the same moment the North Korean threat is escalating to historic proportions.”

Justice Department Found No Wiretaps of Trump Tower

September 2, 2017 at 5:11 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Justice Department said in a court filing Friday evening that it has no evidence to support President Trump’s assertion in March that his predecessor, Barack Obama, wiretapped the phones in Trump Tower before last year’s election,” CNN reports.

Hanabusa Will Challenge Ige for Hawaii Governor

September 2, 2017 at 11:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI) “is apparently ready to gamble that what seemed like a lightning bolt in 2014 will strike again in 2018,” the Honolulu Star Advertiser reports.

“Only once since statehood has a sitting governor been ousted in a primary election, when David Ige (D) unseated Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in 2014. But Hanabusa apparently believes she has the reputation, the political smarts and the fundraising prowess to make history repeat itself.”

Trump Wants to Shift Infrastructure Decisions to States

September 2, 2017 at 11:04 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Top advisers crafting President Trump’s infrastructure plan say they aim to upend the way U.S. public works are financed, shifting the bulk of the decision-making and costs to states and cities and away from Washington,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The administration is proposing $200 billion in new federal funding as the central piece of its $1 trillion plan to improve the nation’s infrastructure. President Trump frequently cited the need for upgrades on the campaign trail.”

Omarosa Blocked from the Oval Office

September 2, 2017 at 7:59 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The former Apprentice co-star—who currently serves as the communications director for the Office of Public Liaison—has seen her direct access to the president limited since Kelly took the top White House job in late July, sources tell the Daily Beast. In particular, Kelly has taken steps to prevent her and other senior staffers from getting unvetted news articles on the president’s Resolute desk—a key method for influencing the president’s thinking, and one that Manigualt used to rile up Trump about internal White House drama.”

“Multiple sources in and outside the Trump White House told The Daily Beast that, until recently, it was common practice for aides to slide into the Oval Office and distract and infuriate the president with pieces of negative news coverage. Manigault, they say, was one of the worst offenders.”

Deadline to Repeal Obamacare Approaches

September 2, 2017 at 7:32 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In a potential death knell for efforts to repeal Obamacare — at least this year — the Senate parliamentarian has ruled that Republicans face a Sept. 30 deadline to kill or overhaul the law with only 50 votes,” Politico reports.

“In search of a badly needed legislative victory, McConnell and other Senate Republicans have shifted their focus instead to tax reform. Yet President Donald Trump — who has repeatedly predicted Obamacare is about to implode — has called for another repeal vote in the Senate, as have GOP conservative hard-liners in both the House and Senate.”

Kelly Bristles at Treatment by Trump

September 2, 2017 at 7:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump was in an especially ornery mood after staff members gently suggested he refrain from injecting politics into day-to-day issues of governing after last month’s raucous rally in Arizona, and he responded by lashing out at the most senior aide in his presence,” the New York Times reports.

“It happened to be his new chief of staff, John F. Kelly.”

“Mr. Kelly, the former Marine general brought in five weeks ago as the successor to Reince Priebus, reacted calmly, but he later told other White House staff members that he had never been spoken to like that during 35 years of serving his country. In the future, he said, he would not abide such treatment, according to three people familiar with the exchange.”