Daily Archives

January 2, 2018

30 posts · Tuesday

It’s Worse Than You Think

January 2, 2018 at 8:22 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Susan Glasser: “By the time the dinner was over, the leaders were in shock, and not just over the idle talk of armed conflict. No matter how prepared they were, eight months into an American presidency like no other, this was somehow not what they expected. A former senior U.S. official with whom I spoke was briefed by ministers from three of the four countries that attended the dinner. ‘Without fail, they just had wide eyes about the entire engagement,’ the former official told me.”

“Even if few took his martial bluster about Venezuela seriously, Trump struck them as uninformed about their issues and dangerously unpredictable, asking them to expend political capital on behalf of a U.S. that no longer seemed a reliable partner. “The word they all used was: ‘This guy is insane.’”

What Happens to Mark Halperin’s Reporting?

January 2, 2018 at 7:42 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jonathan Swan: “Early this year, President Trump invited Mark Halperin to dinner in the White House residence. Seated around the table were Trump’s inner circle, including Jared Kushner, Hope Hicks, Reince Priebus, Stephen Miller, Kellyanne Conway, Steve Bannon, and Sean Spicer. They spent a rollicking evening reminiscing about the campaign, according to two sources in the room.”

“Trump concluded the dinner by telling his team: ‘You guys all need to talk to him,’ for his campaign book — the third installment of Game Change, the most valuable franchise in political reporting. The team cooperated.”

“But Halperin has since been thrown off the book project — Penguin backed out and HBO cancelled the movie version — after a number of women went public with stories about him sexually harassing them in the workplace. That leaves the treasure trove in the hands of Heilemann, and creates a complicated situation. While Halperin and Heilemann co-conducted nearly all of the Clinton campaign interviews and some Trump campaign interviews, it was Halperin’s access that unlocked the highest level of Trumpworld.”

Democrats More Fearful of the Year Ahead

January 2, 2018 at 7:31 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Quote of the Day

January 2, 2018 at 7:24 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“They didn’t know how much I knew. I knew much more than they thought I did. With Flynn and his proximity, he had even more proximity than I did.”

— Former Nixon White House counsel John Dean, talking to Politico, comparing Watergate to the current investigation of possible Trump collusion with Russia.

Record Number of Women Run for Governor

January 2, 2018 at 7:19 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “This year, at least 79 women — 49 Democrats and 30 Republicans — are running for governor or seriously considering it as filing deadlines approach, according to a tally by the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University. The numbers are more than double what they were four years ago and on track to surpass the record 34 women who ran for governor in 1994.”

Tax Bill Was Big Gift to Lobbyists

January 2, 2018 at 7:15 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “President Trump just signed into law the biggest tax overhaul in a generation, but that means more work — not less — for Washington’s tax lobbyists. Rather than streamlining the tax code, Republicans have made it more complicated by jamming through a new series of temporary tax breaks for everything from craft brewers to citrus growers. Lobbyists expect these breaks, known as tax extenders, to generate paydays for years.”

“Adding to their workload: Republicans rammed their bill, H.R. 1 (115), through Congress so quickly that it’s almost certain to require follow-up legislation to fix the mistakes and miscalculations still being discovered, according to interviews with half a dozen tax lobbyists.”

Scaramucci Tells Friends Trump Wants Him Back

January 2, 2018 at 7:05 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The former White House communications director has privately told friends and associates that the president and other members of the Trump family, including White House adviser and first daughter Ivanka Trump, miss him and want him back in the West Wing. Three sources close to Scaramucci have independently told The Daily Beast that the Mooch continues to brag that he and President Trump talk on the phone, and that the Mooch believes his resurrection in Trump-world could be imminent.”

Scaramucci responds on Twitter: “Don’t believe fake news. No standards left in journalism anymore. All anonymous sources.”

Warren Makes Moves to Prepare for 2020 Run

January 2, 2018 at 7:03 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Elizabeth Warren has spent the past year making a series of below-the-radar moves that would put her in prime position to run for president in 2020 if she decides to,” Politico reports.

“The liberal icon and Republican bete noire has amassed more money in her campaign war chest than nearly any senator in modern history, groomed political connections with Democrats who’ve been skeptical of her in the past, and worked to bolster her bipartisan and foreign policy bona fides.”

“It’s part of a conscious break from the heads-down posture that Warren purposefully maintained during the first five years of her Senate career… And it’s representative of Warren’s tricky navigation between the wishes of advocates who want her cutting a clear path to 2020, and supporters who think her best bet is to run up the score in her reelection race this year.”

Republicans Have No Path Forward on Health Care

January 2, 2018 at 6:57 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Republicans start the year divided over whether to tear down or prop up Obamacare, a split that could derail their legislative agenda leading up to the 2018 midterm elections. GOP leaders on Capitol Hill don’t want a repeat of last year’s Obamacare fumble: They spent precious time on a failed attempt to repeal the health care law every member of the GOP was presumed to hate. But they also don’t want to take repeal off the table, which would provoke conservatives who are still determined to undo Obamacare.”

“The reality is the GOP is so divided on Obamacare, they don’t have the votes to achieve either objective — repeal or stabilization. That means former President Barack Obama’s signature legislative accomplishment could keep limping along, crippled by the repeal of the individual mandate in the tax law but lifted by the surprisingly strong enrollment for the coming year.”

White House Is Anxious About 2018

January 2, 2018 at 6:55 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “They’re facing a brain drain on a White House that already had trouble recruiting top talent. Many senior West Wing aides are expected to depart in the coming year, with no replacements lined up. White House chief of staff John Kelly — who has already fired several presidential aides — wants to push out more, but has struggled to find suitable alternatives. And they’re still working under the shadow of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, despite repeated assurances from the White House legal team that the inquiry is wrapping up.

“The grim reality of 2018 has generated a sense of foreboding among White House aides, according to more than a dozen current and former officials and outside advisers. West Wing aides, who worked furiously to push through legislation and executive actions during Trump’s first year in office, expect limited prospects for getting things done in Washington this year heading into a contentious midterm election.”

Jonathan Swan: “Over the past few weeks — especially since Roy Moore’s defeat — sources close to Trump say he’s finally recognizing a harsh reality: If Republicans lose the House in 2018, it will pose an existential threat to his presidency, with endless investigations, legislative obstruction and a likely move toward impeachment.”

Iowa Has Soured on Trump

January 2, 2018 at 6:54 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “Iowa has seemingly soured on the president and his party. The end-of-year Iowa Poll, an industry standard conducted by Des Moines-based Selzer and Co., found Trump with just 35 percent approval in the state. Only 34 percent of Iowans said they would back Republicans for Congress in 2018, and 61 percent said they were turned off by politics altogether.”

Democrats Have Advantage as Congress Reconvenes

January 2, 2018 at 6:52 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Playbook: “Republicans were able to get through December relatively unscathed. They kept the government funded without giving up much of anything. But as D.C. barrels toward Jan. 19 — when government funding runs out — Democrats have a strong hand to play. Fixing DACA and stabilizing Obamacare are issues that unite Democrats and divide Republicans.”

“There will be an effort by Republicans to take care of some of these issues on their own terms early this month to avoid getting jammed up against the January deadline.”

“A few Republicans have been telling us that it will be incumbent upon President Trump to get GOP lawmakers comfortable with an immigration deal — something that nearly toppled Republican leaders in past years.”

Axios: The congressional to do list.