“A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from moving forward on construction projects for a wall along the southern U.S. border with funds that Congress had not approved, the first ruling on the hot-button issue,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam in Oakland said President Trump’s plans to divert federal money to build a border wall, absent appropriations from Congress, exceeded the executive’s authority.”
Daily Beast: “In recent months, Fox’s journalistic ethics have faced increased scrutiny as it courts 2020 Democratic candidates for town hall events and interviews. The channel’s infamously far-right, Trump-boosting opinion programming is separate from its “hard news” division and, as Fox has claimed, both are subject to the network’s rigorous news standards.”
“But Hannity, who consistently dominates the ratings across all cable news outlets, brazenly ignores those supposed rules. And news-side employees who spoke to The Daily Beast believe it’s because no one at the network is willing to control the ratings-leading host.”
The Hill: “Republican candidates and campaign committees have spent more than $4 million at hotel, golf and vineyard properties that bear President Trump’s name since he was inaugurated in 2017.”
“President Trump’s bet that it’ll take years to resolve a coming court fight over his tax returns could be wrong,” Politico reports.
“Federal courts are already ruling quickly against Trump in his other attempts to block Congress. The Supreme Court could also be a dead end if the case doesn’t present new legal issues or divide appellate courts. That means there’s a decent chance the White House could lose the fight and be forced to hand over Trump’s tax records before the election.”
The Guardian: “Facebook says it will continue to host a video of Nancy Pelosi that has been edited to give the impression that the Democratic House Speaker is drunk or unwell, in the latest incident highlighting its struggle to deal with disinformation.”
“Despite the apparently malicious intent of the video’s creator, Facebook has said it will only downgrade its visibility in users’ newsfeeds and attach a link to a third-party fact checking site pointing out that the clip is misleading. As a result, although it is less likely to be seen by accident, the doctored video will continue to rack up views. Facebook only took the action following inquiries from the Washington Post, which first reported the story.”
Related for members: It’s Going to Get Really Bad
Daily Beast: “As President Donald Trump hammers home the perils of immigrants flooding the southern border, his message is going nearly unanswered by Democrats online.”
“Democratic entities with a stake in the 2020 election are significantly lagging behind Trump’s immigration messaging on digital platforms like Facebook and Google, according to data from the Bully Pulpit Interactive, a Democratic political and communications firm.”
Washington Post: “House leaders had hoped to pass the disaster aid bill by unanimous consent, allowing them to move the measure despite most lawmakers having left Washington for the Memorial Day recess. But the objection from Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) holds up the legislation until lawmakers return, currently scheduled for June 3.”
“The bill was approved by the Senate on Thursday and appears to have President Trump’s support.”
The Atlantic: “Obama remains firm that he won’t endorse soon, while aides are stressing that he might get involved later in the process—presumably, the thinking goes, to stop a candidate he sees as too divisive or likely to lose from becoming the nominee. (This hasn’t been specified, but most assume it would be to stop Bernie Sanders.) Obama and his aides have carefully guarded when and how to deploy him; some have even theorized he could be called on to broker who the 2020 nominee is, if the primaries finish without a clear winner and Democrats face a contested convention.”
Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) outlined his case for impeaching President Trump in 20 tweets.
“The Trump administration moved to roll back health-care protections for transgender patients by replacing an Obama-era policy that expanded nondiscrimination protections,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“A section in the Affordable Care Act bans sex discrimination in federally funded health care. The Obama administration issued a regulation that included gender identity as sex discrimination, and the Trump administration wants to define that more narrowly by revising provisions in the regulation.”
Politico: “The California Democrat sent lawmakers out the door Thursday for a 10-day Memorial Day break after tamping down swelling demands from House Democrats to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump.”
“After working to mollify the party’s restive left flank this week by pointing to a pair of legal victories in their oversight battle with Trump, Democrats were ushered into the recess with new talking points from the caucus’ messaging arm that were conspicuously silent on impeachment.”
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Charlie Cook: “While the Republican majority in the Senate probably shouldn’t be in much danger, if one were going to construct a scenario in which Democrats reach a 50-seat majority (with a White House win) or 51 (without one), an uncompromising assault on legal abortion would likely be an element of it.”
“Republicans lost a bunch of suburban districts last year. With actions like these, we may find out how many more there are to lose.”
“Energy Secretary Rick Perry has been a near-ghost in Washington, adhering almost too well to the first rule of working for President Trump — never overshadow the boss,” CNN reports.
“Perry generates so few headlines that it’s easy to forget the longest-tenured Texas governor and two-time Presidential candidate is a Cabinet official.”
“Unlike several of his colleagues, Perry has avoided negative attention or scandal. He has also not run afoul of Trump on any major issue, and he’s maintained good relationships on Capitol Hill. He’s been a loyal soldier and a bit player in a show where Trump is the star.”
“The majority of senior aides and advisers on the top-tier Democratic presidential campaigns are women, and roughly a quarter identified as women of color,” according to an analysis by the Wall Street Journal.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) spoke with Sydney Ember of the New York Times:
NYT: In the top of our story, we talk about the rally you attended in Managua and a wire report at the time said that there were anti-American chants from the crowd.
SANDERS: The United States at that time — I don’t know how much you know about this — was actively supporting the Contras to overthrow the government. So that there’s anti-American sentiment? I remember that, I remember that event very clearly.
NYT: You do recall hearing those chants? I think the wire report has them saying, “Here, there, everywhere, the Yankee will die.”
SANDERS: They were fighting against American —— Huh huh —— yes, what is your point?
NYT: I wanted to ——
SANDERS: Are you shocked to learn that there was anti-American sentiment?
NYT: Do you think if you had heard that directly, you would have stayed at the rally?
SANDERS: I think Sydney, with all due respect, you don’t understand a word that I’m saying.
Amy Walter: “Democrats are in something of a Catch-22. There is a consensus (at least among the chattering class and highly engaged Democratic voters) that the party needs to pick a nominee who is the most electable, even if this person is not the most exciting or ground-breaking pick (i.e., a white, moderate, male). But, the ‘least risky’ candidate risks depressing Democratic base voters (especially younger voters and voters of color), the very voters Democrats need to turn out if they are going to beat President Trump.”
“New polling by Pew Research suggests that former Vice President Joe Biden — the candidate many see as the most electable — also fits the description of the type of nominee that many voters in the Democratic base say they are least enthusiastic about supporting in November of 2020. Pew asked Democratic voters to choose their level of enthusiasm for a Democratic nominee based on that candidate’s gender, race, and sexual orientation. A nominee who was female, Black, or Latino generated the most enthusiasm and the lowest percent of apathy. A nominee who was described as gay, lesbian or bi-sexual drew slightly more eagerness than wariness — 17 percent more enthusiastic to 15 percent less enthusiastic.”
“The characteristics that drew the lowest percent of enthusiasm and the highest percent of apathy? You guessed it, a white man.”
The Cook Political Report sees the Kentucky gubernatorial race between Gov. Matt Bevin (R) and Attorney General Andy Beshear (D) as a Toss Up.
“There haven’t been any recent general election polling, but we suspect that a reliable poll would show the race within the margin of error. We wouldn’t even be surprised to see polling showing Beshear ahead, at least at the start.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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