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Officials Study Options for Closing U.S.-Mexico Border

April 4, 2019 at 6:46 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bloomberg: “The Trump administration is examining options for shutting entry points to the U.S. from Mexico in case the president follows through with his threat to close the border, a White House official said Wednesday.

“Officials are discussing the possibility of closing select ports of entry, partly closing them, or shutting all entry points entirely, said the official, who asked for anonymity to comment on private deliberations. The preparations are said to be somewhere between a theoretical discussion of options and implementation planning.”

Jonathan Swan: “The cautious view among most Republican lawmakers and White House aides is that President Trump won’t follow through with his dramatic threat to close ports of entry at the border.”

Book Details Trump’s Relationship with Capitol Hill

April 4, 2019 at 6:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “During a Republican retreat at Camp David last year, President Trump seemed particularly enthralled as Gary Cohn, then his chief economic adviser, delivered a briefing on infrastructure. The president impressed the assembled lawmakers with his apparent interest in the presentation, nodding along and scribbling furious notes.”

“But Trump’s notes ‘had nothing to do with infrastructure,’ journalists Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer write in their new book, The Hill to Die On. Instead, Trump had scrawled ‘Sloppy Steve’ atop his index card, followed by ‘copious notes’ criticizing Stephen K. Bannon, his former chief strategist whom he had fired several months earlier.”

“‘As Cohn had detailed his plans to rebuild America’s roads, the president was writing down how he wanted to trash Steve Bannon the next time someone asked him about it,’ the authors write, in one of buzzy scenes that pepper the book.”

Trump Hit With Investigative Assault

April 4, 2019 at 6:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In a single day, House Democrats demanded President Donald Trump’s tax returns for six years, moved to get a decade’s worth of his financial records and prepared to issue a subpoena for the full Mueller report from the Justice Department,” Politico reports.

“Top House Democratic lawmakers and aides say the triple-headed attack was more by accident than design, but it’s also clear that April 3 marks a turning point for the new Democratic majority. In less than eight hours, House Democrats moved to an all-out investigative assault on Trump, one that the White House and Republican leaders blasted as unnecessary, openly partisan and a huge distraction from the country’s business.”

Bennet Has Prostate Cancer But Will Run for President

April 3, 2019 at 10:21 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Mike Littwin: “When Michael Bennet’s office called to say he had a big announcement to make, I assumed he would be confirming what everyone already knew — that the Colorado senator would be joining John Hickenlooper and the rest of the ever-expanding Democratic field running for president. And, also, that though he understood he would be a long shot, he figured at this point, without a clear favorite, that it could leave an opening for someone like him — the umpteenth senator to announce.”

“When Bennet got to the phone, that is, in fact, what he did say. But it wasn’t all he said or nearly the most important thing he said and definitely not the most scary thing he said.”

“Which was this: Just as he had finally become comfortable with his decision to run, he went to get a physical and received very discomfiting news from his doctor — he has prostate cancer.”

Buttigieg Draws Huge Crowd at Northeastern

April 3, 2019 at 10:16 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Pete Buttigieg, the nascent presidential candidate and mayor of South Bend, Ind., riled up a crowd of more than 1,000 college students at Northeastern University on Wednesday,” Politico reports.

“Part of his appeal, the students said, was that Buttigieg wasn’t trying to appeal to them.”

Kushner Was Official Whose Clearance Was Denied

April 3, 2019 at 7:57 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The senior White House official whose security clearance was denied last year because of concerns about foreign influence, private business interests and personal conduct is presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, the Washington Post reports.

“The new details about the internal debate over Kushner’s clearance revives questions about the severity of the issues flagged in his background investigation and Kushner’s access to government secrets.”

Mueller’s Team Sees Findings as More Damaging for Trump

April 3, 2019 at 7:27 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Some of Robert Mueller’s investigators have told associates that Attorney General William Barr failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry and that they were more troubling for President Trump than Mr. Barr indicated,” the New York Times reports.

“Some members of Mr. Mueller’s team are concerned that, because Mr. Barr created the first narrative of the special counsel’s findings, Americans’ views will have hardened before the investigation’s conclusions become public.”

“It was unclear how much discussion Mr. Mueller and his investigators had with senior Justice Department officials about how their findings would be made public. It was also unclear how widespread the vexation is among the special counsel team, which included 19 lawyers, about 40 F.B.I. agents and other personnel.”

For members: Barr Changes His Story

Ryan to Announce White House Bid This Week

April 3, 2019 at 7:08 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) “is expected to announce a presidential campaign this week,” several sources told BuzzFeed News.

“Ryan is scheduled to appear Thursday on The View, a popular talk show destination for national politicians. He is also planning a Saturday rally in Youngstown. Leaders from local organized labor — long a staple of his base — have been invited to attend.”

House Chairman Requests Trump Tax Returns

April 3, 2019 at 6:26 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said Congress has a duty to conduct oversight of “our voluntary Federal tax system and determine how Americans – including those elected to our highest office – are complying with those laws,” the Washington Post reports.

President Trump has refused to provide his tax returns, and in a break from other presidential candidates, never released his returns.

The New York Times says the request will start “what is likely to be a momentous fight with his administration.”

Grassley Calls Trump’s Wind Comments ‘Idiotic’

April 3, 2019 at 5:58 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is expressing irritation at what he calls “idiotic” comments by President Trump about wind energy, CBS News reports.

Grassley told reporters that the comments “were first of all idiotic and it doesn’t show much respect for Chuck Grassley as the grandfather of the wind energy tax credit.”

House Intelligence Seeks Documents From Inaugural

April 3, 2019 at 4:39 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The House Intelligence Committee has asked one of the top contractors to President Trump’s inaugural to provide it with documents about the event, a person familiar with the situation said on Wednesday, opening up a new line of inquiry into the planning and financing of the ceremonies,” the New York Times reports.

“The committee asked for documents from and an interview with Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who had been a close friend of the first lady, Melania Trump, and who had helped plan the celebrations and parties around the inaugural.”

Senate Republicans Go ‘Nuclear’ to Speed Nominations

April 3, 2019 at 4:35 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “For the third time in six years, the majority party in the Senate detonated the so-called nuclear option on Wednesday to unilaterally change years-old rules of the chamber with a simple-majority vote. This time, to work through a backlog of President Trump’s judicial and administration nominations, Republicans cut the time between ending debate and a final confirmation vote on executive-branch nominees and district court judges from 30 hours to two.”

“The change was a provocative step that reignited a bitter partisan fight over presidential nominations that has raged for a decade and spanned presidencies from both parties. Democrats dwelled at length over the blockade that stopped Judge Merrick B. Garland from ascending to the Supreme Court in the final year of Barack Obama’s presidency to angrily question how Republicans could complain about the handling of Mr. Trump’s nominees.”

Washington Post: “Under previous Senate orders, these nominees used to require 30 hours of debate after they had cleared an initial procedural vote. Now, such nominees will receive just two hours of formal debate before a final confirmation roll call.”

Biden Pledges to Be ‘More Respectful’ of Personal Space

April 3, 2019 at 3:27 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Joe Biden posted a video on Twitter pledging to be more mindful of people’s personal space in the wake of multiple allegations from women accusing the former vice president of making them uncomfortable with his physical contact,” Politico reports.

“Biden said the contact — handshakes, hugs and shoulder grabs — were his way of showing support to others, something he appreciated during times of hardship in his own life.”

“But the former vice president also acknowledged that social norms have changed and promised to adapt his own behavior accordingly.”

Kobach Suggests ‘Processing Towns’ for Migrants

April 3, 2019 at 2:39 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Kris Kobach, who President Trump is considering appointing as his administration’s “immigration tsar,” suggested on Fox Business creating “camps” for asylum seekers in the United States.

Said Kobach: “Create processing towns that are confined, and so when someone comes in and falsely claims asylum, we don’t release them for six months onto the streets of the United States.”

He added: “We process them right there, in that camp, where they have the three square meals, they’re living in a nice mobile home, and then as soon as they’re done, as soon as the claim is rejected, they’re on the next plane back home.”

O’Rourke Raised $9.4 Million In 18 Days

April 3, 2019 at 2:02 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Beto O’Rourke’s campaign announced that he raised $9.4 million in the first quarter, 18 days after launching his 2020 bid.

O’Rourke raised an average of $520,000 per day, with 218,000 total donations.

Sanders Will Take Part In Fox News Town Hall

April 3, 2019 at 12:44 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Sen. Bernie Sanders will participate in a town hall hosted by Fox News later this month,” Politico reports.

“The town hall is slated for April 15 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and will focus on economy and jobs.”

Swalwell Will Make 2020 Announcement This Month

April 3, 2019 at 12:37 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and political advisers around him have started to tell top Democrats he plans to launch a presidential campaign this month, CNN reports.

“The California Democrat, a 38-year-old four-term congressman from the Bay Area, has made five trips to Iowa and three trips to New Hampshire since the 2018 midterms. He will return to the Granite State Saturday.”

GOP Senator Warns Biden ‘Would Lose Teeth’

April 3, 2019 at 12:23 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) joked that former Vice President Joe Biden may “lose some teeth” if he attempts to embrace the GOP senator in a manner similar to how several women have described encounters with Biden that made them uncomfortable in recent days, The Hill reports.

Said Kennedy: “I’ve said this before, just because you’re accused of something doesn’t mean you’re guilty of it. This is America and you do have a right to due process. On the other hand, this is no country for creepy old men.”