Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) told the HuffPost that she supports legislation that would require President Trump and other presidential candidates to release their tax returns in order to appear on the state’s primary ballot.
Barr Sees ‘Irregularities’ In Epstein’s Death
“Attorney General William Barr on Monday sharply criticized the management of the federal jail in Manhattan where Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who was long dogged by accusations of sexual abuse of girls, was found dead on Saturday morning after he had apparently hanged himself,” the New York Times reports.
Said Barr: “We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation. We will get to the bottom of what happened. There will be accountability.”
Trump Significantly Weakens Endangered Species Act
“The Trump administration on Monday announced that it would change the way the Endangered Species Act is applied, significantly weakening the nation’s bedrock conservation law credited with rescuing the bald eagle, the grizzly bear and the American alligator from extinction,” the New York Times reports..
“The changes will make it harder to consider the effects of climate change on wildlife when deciding whether a given species warrants protection. They would most likely shrink critical habitats and, for the first time, would allow economic assessments to be conducted when making determinations.”
A Plea for Beto to ‘Come Home’
A Houston Chronicle editorial says we saw the real Beto O’Rourke after the El Paso mass shooting last week.
“Frankly, it’s made us wish O’Rourke would shift gears, and rather than unpause his presidential campaign, we’d like to see him take a new direction.”
“So Beto, if you’re listening: Come home. Drop out of the race for president and come back to Texas to run for senator. The chances of winning the race you’re in now are vanishingly small. And Texas needs you.”
The Filibuster Is Suffocating the Will of Voters
Harry Reid: “I am not an expert on all of government, but I do know something about the United States Senate. As the former majority leader, I know how tough it is to get anything through the chamber, which was designed to serve as the slower, more deliberative body of the United States Congress.”
“But what is happening today is a far cry from what the framers intended. They created the Senate as a majority-rule body, where both sides could have their say at length — but at the end of the day, bills would pass or fail on a simple majority vote. In their vision, debate was supposed to inform and enrich the process, not be exploited as a mechanism to grind it to a halt.”
“The Senate today, after years of abusing an arcane procedural rule known as the filibuster, has become an unworkable legislative graveyard.”
Gabbard to Report for Active Duty
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) told CBS News that she will be taking a two-week absence from her presidential campaign Monday to report for active duty with the Hawaiian Army National Guard in Indonesia.
Trump Is Losing Ground In the Suburbs
First Read: “For all of the discussion about whether Democrats can win Texas in 2020, or whether they have solid chances to flip Senate seats in Arizona and Georgia, one demographic development has become crystal clear: President Trump is losing America’s suburbs.”
“In the six national NBC/Wall Street Journal polls conducted this year, Trump’s job rating has been underwater among suburban residents — with just one exception.”
“And what do Arizona, Georgia and Texas have in common? They have lots of suburban voters — either outside one major metropolitan area (in the cases of Arizona and Georgia), or outside multiple major cities (regarding Texas).”
Gun Background Checks Wait On Trump
Daily Beast: “Just over a week since mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, Senate Republicans are waiting to see if President Trump walks away from the issue again or forces their hand before trying to do anything about potentially expanding background checks for gun purchases.”
“He’s walked away before. Following the Parkland school massacre last year, the president promised that he was ‘going to be very strong on background checks,’ only to retreat after holding private meetings with National Rifle Association officials at the White House. The NRA, a key ally of Trump’s, has spent big money lobbying against background-checks expansion legislation, and last week reminded him of its staunch opposition.”
Maine Expects Flood of Political Ads
“Maine will see unprecedented amounts of political ad spending in the 2020 presidential cycle, with a nationally targeted U.S. Senate race drawing more than twice what has ever been spent on a single campaign here,” the Bangor Daily News reports.
Quote of the Day
“I just got a beautiful letter from him this week. We are friends. People say he only smiles when he sees me.”
— President Trump, quoted by the New York Post, on his friendship with Kim Jong Un.
Trump Tries to Curb Legal Immigration
The Trump administration plans to penalize immigrants who use or might use public benefits, a move aimed at curbing legal immigration, the Washington Post reports.
“In one of President Trump’s most significant immigration moves to date, applicants could be denied green cards and other immigration benefits if they use food assistance, housing vouchers or other forms of public welfare.”
Trump Has Now Lied Over 12K Times as President
President Trump has been caught making 12,019 false or misleading claims since taking office, the Washington Post reports.
El Paso Killer Echoed Conservative Media
“An extensive New York Times review of popular right-wing media platforms found hundreds of examples of language, ideas and ideologies that overlapped with the mass killer’s written statement — a shared vocabulary of intolerance that stokes fears centered on immigrants of color. The programs, on television and radio, reach an audience of millions.”
Texas Republicans Brace for 2020 Drubbing
“As bad as it’s been for Texas Republicans lately, some members of the party are warning that 2020 could be even worse,” Politico reports.
“The rash of recent House GOP retirements is just the latest sign of a state party in distress: In last year’s midterms, Democrats flipped a pair of longtime GOP districts, a Democrat came within striking distance of a Senate seat and more than 50 elected Republican judges lost their jobs. Democrats also gained ground in state legislative races.”
Said Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX): “If the Republican Party in Texas doesn’t start looking like Texas, there won’t be a Republican Party in Texas.”
Clinton’s 2008 Collapse In South Carolina Looms Large
Charleston Post & Courier: “As the 2020 Democratic race prepares to enter the crucial fall campaign season, it’s now former Vice President Joe Biden who is far in front of the pack for South Carolina’s pivotal First in the South primary — and determined not to let history repeat itself.”
“Some supporters of other candidates, like former state Rep. Bakari Sellers, who endorsed U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris of California, cite potential parallels with 2008 as a reason why they believe the race remains wide open despite Biden’s commanding lead.”
Said Sellers: “I think the vice president’s support, a lot like the first lady’s support at the time, is very wide, but it’s not deep. I think once Sen. Harris is able to prove her electability, which I don’t have much concern that she will, I expect the tide to change with African American voters like it did with Hillary Clinton.”
Hong Kong Cancels Flights Over Protests
“Hong Kong airport authorities canceled remaining flights on Monday after protesters swarmed the main terminal building for a fourth day, the biggest disruption yet to the city’s economy since demonstrations began in early June,” Bloomberg reports.
U.S. Suspects Nuclear Accident In Russia
“American intelligence officials are racing to understand a mysterious explosion that released radiation off the coast of northern Russia last week, apparently during the test of a new type of nuclear-propelled cruise missile hailed by President Vladimir V. Putin as the centerpiece of Moscow’s arms race with the United States,” the New York Times reports.
“American officials have said nothing publicly about the blast on Thursday, possibly one of the worst nuclear accidents in the region since Chernobyl, although apparently on a far smaller scale, with at least seven people, including scientists, confirmed dead.”
Border Chief Grilled on Potential Trump Crimes
“CNN host Jake Tapper grilled Mark Morgan, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, about whether federal officials are giving the Trump Organization a pass on hiring undocumented immigrants while raiding other companies that do the same,” the HuffPost reports.
“Though President Trump has repeatedly stoked fears over a so-called ‘invasion’ of the undocumented migrants, at least eight of his company’s properties have employed workers who entered the U.S. illegally, according to a Washington Post report published Friday.”
