Daily Archives

November 13, 2018

44 posts · Tuesday

Anti-Pelosi Democrats Claim They Have the Votes

November 13, 2018 at 11:03 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), “one of the leaders of a small Democratic contingent opposing Nancy Pelosi’s bid for speaker, said he is ‘100 percent confident’ the group has enough commitments to block the California Democrat from being elected speaker on the floor,” Roll Call reports.

“The anti-Pelosi group has been gathering signatures from new and returning members on a letter that calls for new Democratic leadership. It also notes that the signatories will not back Pelosi during the January floor vote for speaker.”

Graham Supports Bill to Protect Mueller

November 13, 2018 at 10:43 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he supported a bill that would protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from any politically motivated firings and would urge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to allow a vote on it, Reuters reports.

Denham Loses His House Seat

November 13, 2018 at 10:39 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) has become the latest California Republican to lose his seat, Politico reports.

“The Associated Press on Tuesday night declared Josh Harder the winner in the race in California’s 10th District in the state’s Central Valley east of San Jose. Harder, a former venture capitalist, had a lead of approximately 4,900 votes when the race was called.”

Staff Anger Spills Over at White House

November 13, 2018 at 10:09 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Bottled-up hostility in President Trump’s administration flowed to the surface Tuesday during a remarkable 12-hour period following an awkward midterm détente and tense trip to Paris over which the president is still seething.”

“White House aides and advisers have long anticipated an internal staff reckoning once the uneasy truce broke and the dust settled after the elections. But some conceded that the drumbeat of exits, the threat of subpoenas from the Russia probe and anticipated investigations by a newly empowered Democratic House — along with a raft of negative media attention in recent days — were taking a heavy toll on not only the president, but also on the aides and advisers’ thinning ranks.“

Trump’s Appointment of Matt Whitaker Is Backfiring

November 13, 2018 at 9:49 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “The appointment has drawn bipartisan criticism and led to questions about Whitaker’s qualifications and whether he would limit the investigation or bury its findings. The state of Maryland on Tuesday filed the first legal challenge seeking to overturn Whitaker’s appointment, while on Capitol Hill newly empowered House Democrats are already making plans to have the acting attorney general appear as one of their first witnesses when the next Congress launches in January.”

“The uproar over the appointment, which effectively removes Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as Mueller’s primary supervisor, has put Whitaker in a difficult spot, trapped between setting off a political firestorm by clipping Mueller’s wings and angering a president intent on having him do just that.”

“Even Trump’s Justice Department is wavering about whether Whitaker will do the deed the president wanted him for.”

Mimi Walters Now Trails In Vote Count

November 13, 2018 at 9:08 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“After clinging for a week to a slim lead in her run for reelection, Republican Rep. Mimi Walters fell 261 votes behind her Democratic challenger, Katie Porter, as Orange County’s latest ballot count Tuesday underscored the increasingly bleak fortune of the California GOP,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

Inside Trump’s Paris Fury

November 13, 2018 at 9:05 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “During his 43-hour stay in Paris, Trump brooded over the Florida recounts and sulked over key races being called for Democrats in the midterm elections that he had claimed as a ‘big victory.’ He erupted at his staff over media coverage of his decision to skip a ceremony honoring the military sacrifice of World War I.”

“The president also was angry and resentful over French President Emmanuel Macron’s public rebuke of rising nationalism, which Trump considered a personal attack. And that was after his difficult meeting with Macron, where officials said little progress was made as Trump again brought up his frustrations over trade and Iran.”

“Meanwhile, Trump was plotting a shake-up in his administration.“

Kyl Won’t Say How Long He’ll Serve

November 13, 2018 at 7:56 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) “said that he hasn’t decided how long he’ll serve as the late John McCain’s appointed replacement and kept the door open to suggesting that Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) — who lost her Senate bid last week — serve out the remainder of his term,” Politico reports.

“When Kyl agreed to step into the Senate seat earlier this year, he didn’t address his future beyond this year and said he wouldn’t run in a 2020 special election that’s set to determine who will serve for the two years left in McCain’s term. That has stoked speculation that McSally could get appointed to replace Kyl in the seat, giving her a potential leg up in the 2020 race.”

Bevin Blames Zombie Shows for Gun Violence

November 13, 2018 at 7:11 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) said that new laws aren’t the solution to gun violence, but addressing a “culture of death” in media is the place to start, USA Today reports.

Said Bevin: “It starts with everything from the type of entertainment that we focus on. What’s the most popular topic that seems to be in every cable television network. Television shows are all about, what? Zombies! I don’t get it … that’s what we are.”

Trump Won Less Than Half of ‘His’ Races

November 13, 2018 at 6:57 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

President Trump was on the campaign trail for several weeks ahead of last week’s midterm elections. While he appeared on stage with many candidates, he urged his supporters at rallies to vote as if he were on the ballot.

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Whitaker Abandoned Taxpayer-Funded Project

November 13, 2018 at 6:07 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“While in private business, acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker walked away from a taxpayer-subsidized apartment-rehabilitation project in Iowa after years of cost overruns, delays and other problems,” the AP reports.

“The city of Des Moines ultimately yanked an affordable housing loan that Whitaker’s company had been awarded, and another lender began foreclosure proceedings after Whitaker defaulted on a separate loan for nearly $700,000.”

Reviewer Takes Back Her Praise of Flake’s Book

November 13, 2018 at 5:47 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jennifer Senior writes in the New York Times that she wants to “take back” her “mostly kind review” of Sen. Jeff Flake’s Conscience of a Conservative, in which she praised the GOP senator for standing up to President Trump and calling him “the domestic and international menace that he is.”

She writes: “I said that Flake’s book had rhetorical power. But looking back on it, it didn’t. Jeff Flake’s book couldn’t even convince Jeff Flake. As of this writing, he has voted with Trump 84% of the time.”

Three Factors That Produced a Blue Wave

November 13, 2018 at 5:42 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

John Harwood: “One week ago, three distinct but overlapping currents combined to shift tidal forces in America’s midterm elections — and smash the Republican Party’s congressional fortress.”

“Those currents were demographic change, Democratic mobilization and disaffection with President Trump. As is clearer now than on election night, they produced a blue wave that has fundamentally altered the political calculus of the capital.”

Judge Orders Florida Recount Extended

November 13, 2018 at 5:19 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A Florida judge issued an order extending the deadline for recounts in Palm Beach County on state races in question to Nov. 20, about five days after the original 3 p.m. Thursday deadline, the Palm Beach Post reports.

Bloomberg Will Decide on Presidential Bid Within Weeks

November 13, 2018 at 4:49 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg “declared lifetime allegiance to the Democratic Party on Tuesday and outlined an aggressive timeline for deciding whether to run for president,” the AP reports.

Said Bloomberg: “Thanksgiving, Christmas and then maybe a few weeks into January — that’s when you really gotta sit down, talk to your advisers and say, ‘Look, do I have a chance?’ I think I know why I would want to run. I think I know what I think this country should do and what I would do. But I just don’t know whether it’s possible.”

He added” “If people don’t seem to be warming to you, there’s plenty of other ways that I can make a difference in life and say thank you to this country for what it’s given my kids and me.”

“Should he run, Bloomberg would bring virtually limitless resources and a pragmatic governing approach to what is expected to be a massive 2020 Democratic field… It’s unclear, however, whether there’s room for Bloomberg in today’s Democratic Party.”

Federal Budget Deficit Is Exploding

November 13, 2018 at 4:29 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The U.S. recorded a $100.5 billion budget deficit in October, an increase of about 60 percent from a year earlier, as spending grew twice as fast as revenue,” Bloomberg reports.

“A ballooning U.S. budget shortfall — fueled by tax cuts, spending hikes and an aging population — is driving the Treasury Department to raise its long-term debt issuance.”

Trump Retreats from Presidential Duties

November 13, 2018 at 4:24 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“For weeks this fall, an ebullient President Trump traveled relentlessly to hold raise-the-rafters campaign rallies — sometimes three a day — in states where his presence was likely to help Republicans on the ballot,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“But his mood apparently has changed as he has taken measure of the electoral backlash that voters delivered Nov. 6. With the certainty that the incoming Democratic House majority will go after his tax returns and investigate his actions, and the likelihood of additional indictments by special counsel Robert Mueller, Trump has retreated into a cocoon of bitterness and resentment.”

“Behind the scenes, they say, the president has lashed out at several aides, from junior press assistants to senior officials.”

Said one administration official: “He’s furious. Most staffers are trying to avoid him.”

Reynolds Bluntly Tells Steve King to Decide His Future

November 13, 2018 at 3:49 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signaled she’s lost her patience with Rep. Steve King (R-IA), “who won a ninth term in the U.S. House last week despite a firestorm of criticism for aligning himself with far-right European politicians and repeatedly making remarks critics have deemed racist,” the Des Moines Register reports.

Said Reynolds: “I think that Steve King needs to make a decision if he wants to represent the people and the values of the 4th District or do something else, and I think he needs to take a look at that.”