Archives for January 2018

Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!

Florida Ballot Measure Could Add 1.5 Million Voters

January 23, 2018 at 12:02 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Floridians will get to decide in November whether they want to amend the state constitution to automatically restore voting rights to felons once they complete their sentences, a move that could significantly expand the franchise to over 1.5 million people,” the HuffPost reports.

“Florida election officials verified Tuesday that organizers had gathered enough petitions to put the referendum on the ballot this year. Just gathering those signatures was a herculean task for the grassroots effort ― Florida law required the organizers to gather 766,200 signatures, equal to 8 percent of the votes cast in the last presidential election.”

Sessions Was Interviewed by Special Counsel

January 23, 2018 at 9:49 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Attorney General Jeff Sessions was questioned for several hours last week by the special counsel’s office as part of the investigation into Russia’s meddling in the election and whether the president obstructed justice since taking office,” the New York Times reports.

“The meeting marked the first time that investigators for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, are known to have interviewed a member of Mr. Trump’s cabinet.”

Schumer Keeps His Eye on the Midterms

January 23, 2018 at 9:31 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

The morning headlines aren’t kind to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Politico says his performance during the government shutdown fight sparked “unrest in the ranks.” The Wall Street Journal says he was “outflanked” by centrist senators. Time says Democrats “lost their spine.”

Join now to continue reading.

Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.

If you’re already a member, sign in to your account.

Russian Twitter Accounts Promoted GOP Talking Points

January 23, 2018 at 8:45 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The White House branded the federal budget impasse… as the ‘Schumer Shutdown’ in its attempt to pin the blame on Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY),” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“But it wasn’t just Republicans using that phrase during the weekend government shutdown. Independent analysts said Twitter accounts linked to Russia have spread the same message.”

Donna Shalala Might Run for Congress

January 23, 2018 at 8:19 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former University of Miami president Donna Shalala “might be eying a bid for Florida’s 27th Congressional District, where nine Democrats are scrapping to succeed retiring Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in a seat that Hillary Clinton almost won by almost 20 points,” Politico reports.

“If Shalala runs, she’s a likely frontrunner who could clear some of the field.”

Majority Don’t Trust Trump with Nuclear Weapons

January 23, 2018 at 7:54 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds 60% of Americans don’t trust President Trump to handle his nuclear authority responsibly, and just more than half are concerned he might launch a nuclear attack without justification.

Quote of the Day

January 23, 2018 at 7:49 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“We kind of gave him—‘All right, you get a mulligan. You get a do-over here.'”

— Evangelical leader Tony Perkins, in an interview with Politico, on President Trump’s extramarital relationship with porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump Has Not Followed Through on Ethics Pledge

January 23, 2018 at 7:45 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Among the many promises Donald Trump made a year ago to assure people he wouldn’t profit off his presidency, one stood out for its boldness: a pledge to donate the profits from any foreign governments staying in his namesake hotels to the U.S. Treasury,” the AP reports.

“Today, after a year in which groups associated with Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Kuwait have booked rooms, hosted events and spent thousands of dollars at the president’s hotel in Washington, no such payments to the Treasury have been made.”

Trump Commission Sought Data Flagging Hispanic Voters

January 23, 2018 at 7:20 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump’s voting commission asked every state and the District for detailed voter registration data, but in Texas’s case it took an additional step: It asked to see Texas records that identify all voters with Hispanic surnames,” the Washington Post reports.

“In buying nearly 50 million records from the state with the nation’s second-largest Hispanic population, a researcher for the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity checked a box on two Texas public voter data request forms explicitly asking for the ‘Hispanic surname flag notation,’ to be included in information sent to the voting commission, according to copies of the signed and notarized state forms.”

Trump Will Invite Macron for State Visit

January 23, 2018 at 7:17 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump is expected to invite French President Emmanuel Macron to Washington for an official state visit later this year, the first of his presidency,” CNN reports.

“While a date for the visit has not yet been officially set and the White House has not made an announcement, sources say that could come as soon as this week, while Trump attends the World Economic Forum in Davos.”

Trump Staffers Working Without Certified Disclosures

January 23, 2018 at 7:11 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

McClatchy: “A year into Donald Trump’s presidency, records show five of his top staffers still have not secured final approval of their financial reports — disclosures that are required by law to ensure Americans that these senior officials aren’t personally benefiting from their White House jobs.”

Schumer Played a Bad Hand

January 23, 2018 at 7:05 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Playbook: “Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was roundly panned in the press and by many Democrats for leading the Senate into a shutdown without a strategy and for being unable to extract any sort of promise from Republicans. Pelosi and other Democrats are vowing not to vote for a spending deal until a DACA compromise is reached. It’s hard to see Democrats having the political fortitude to try to shut down the government again in a little more than two weeks after getting nothing this time around.”

“Schumer had a bad hand here. The base was itching for a conflict, and he gave them one. But he really didn’t have an easy or clear way out. Democrats also misjudged how Trump would react. They thought he would blow up, which would’ve made the shutdown all about him. He didn’t. That strengthened the GOP’s hand.”

For members: 5 Takeaways from the Government Shutdown

Trump Praised McConnell for Setting Strategy

January 23, 2018 at 7:02 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “As negotiations to keep the government open stalled Friday evening, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called President Trump and told him he should prepare for a shutdown. Trump, ever eager for a deal, responded by asking who else he should call and suggested he dial Democrats or try Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) again, one person familiar with the conversation said. But McConnell urged the president to sit tight and make the Democrats come to them, this person said. Trump paused, agreed, and then offered McConnell his highest praise: ‘You are a good negotiator.’”

A Lesson In Keeping Trump Quiet

January 23, 2018 at 7:01 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “The shutdown drama taught White House aides a lesson: when it comes to President Donald Trump, sometimes less is more. For about 48 hours this weekend, Trump kept an unusually low profile, making no public appearances and keeping his direct contact with lawmakers – especially Democrats – to a minimum. Instead, the president left the heavy lifting to his staff, temporarily suppressing his instinct to invite lawmakers to the White House to strike a grand bargain.”

“In the end, the stand-back-and-watch approach paid off, putting pressure on Senate leaders to reach an agreement to open the government on their own – and delivering Trump a much-needed victory, according to half a dozen White House officials and advisers.”

Shutdown Battle Is Only on Pause

January 23, 2018 at 7:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Washington will be back on the brink in less than three weeks. Lawmakers may have pulled themselves out of a debilitating government shutdown Monday, but the fight over immigration and spending that’s ground virtually all congressional business to a halt is far from over. And the fundamentals of the debate haven’t changed at all.”

“Republican leaders are under increasing pressure from their own members to reach a long-term budget agreement by Feb. 8, when the government next runs out of money. Their defense hawks are desperate to increase defense spending, a key 2018 priority for President Donald Trump. And their members are sick of voting on short-term funding bills that they say cripple the military.”

“But in order to strike any long-term budget accord, at least nine Senate Democrats are needed for passage. And while Democrats’ strategy of shuttering the government until securing relief for Dreamers blew up in their faces Monday, they can still withhold support for a long-term budget deal to get what they want on immigration.”

FBI Director Threatened to Resign

January 22, 2018 at 7:56 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Attorney General Jeff Sessions — at the public urging of President Trump — has been pressuring FBI Director Christopher Wray to fire Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, but Wray threatened to resign if McCabe was removed,” Axios reports.

“Wray’s resignation under those circumstances would have created a media firestorm. The White House — understandably gun-shy after the Comey debacle — didn’t want that scene, so McCabe remains.”

Chasing Hillary

January 22, 2018 at 6:37 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Coming soon: Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceiling by Amy Chozick.

Trump Puts Tariffs on Solar Imports

January 22, 2018 at 5:57 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In the biggest blow he’s dealt to the renewable energy industry yet, President Trump decided on Monday to slap tariffs on imported solar panels,” Bloomberg reports.

“The U.S. will impose duties of as much as 30 percent on solar equipment made abroad, a move that threatens to handicap a $28 billion industry that relies on parts made abroad for 80 percent of its supply… The tariffs are just the latest action Trump has taken that undermine the economics of renewable energy.”