The Trump administration has called off a major summit of Asian leaders next month in Las Vegas amid growing alarm over the coronavirus, two U.S. officials tell NBC News.
Trump Nominates Ratcliffe as Spy Chief
President Trump said on Friday that he intends to nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) as his permanent director of national intelligence, CNN reports.
Steve Vladeck: “Even if there’s no real chance that Ratcliffe will be confirmed by the Senate, the formal submission of his nomination will allow Richard Grenell to continue to serve as Acting DNI past March 11 — and for another 210 days after Ratcliffe’s rejection or withdrawal.”
Court Rules McGahn Can Defy Subpoena
“Former White House counsel Donald McGahn can defy a Congressional subpoena, a federal appeals court in Washington ruled Friday in a decision siding with President Trump, who had blocked top advisers from testifying as part of the impeachment proceedings,” the Washington Post reports.
“The 2-1 ruling by a three-judge panel, if it stands, means Trump’s former lawyer cannot be compelled to appear on Capitol Hill, and comes after Democrats lost their bid to call additional witnesses during Trump’s Senate trial.”
Poll Shows Biden Stronger In 10 Battleground States
A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll suggests that Bernie Sanders could be a riskier nominee than his supporters are willing to admit. In a national trial heat with President Trump, Sanders led 48% to 42% among registered voters. Yet when the playing field was narrowed to the 10 states that were closest in the 2016 presidential election and that will likely decide 2020 — Michigan, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, Maine, North Carolina and Arizona — Sanders’s lead over Trump was slashed in half (48% to 45%). That 3-point gap was within the margin of error.
In contrast, Joe Biden led Trump by 9 points nationally (50% to 41%) and by 7 points (50% to 43%) in the battleground states.
Both Elizabeth Warren (47% to 45%) and Pete Buttigieg (46% to 44%) performed about as well as Sanders in the battleground states. The weakest performer was Michael Bloomberg (43% to 43%).
Trump Spends Big on Law Firm That Threatens Media
“The Trump campaign has shelled out more than $2 million in two years to a law firm known for suing media companies, a signal President Trump’s reelection strategy will be about going to war with the media as well as taking on his eventual Democratic rival,” CNN reports.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Decency and honor. The fact that I’m not screaming like Bernie and waving my arms like Elizabeth is not a lack of fire.”
— Joe Biden, quoted by Politico, when asked by a voter, “What is your fire?”
Trump Officials Discussing Emergency Tax Cuts
“Trump administration officials are holding preliminary conversations about economic responses to the coronavirus, as the stock market fell sharply again on Friday amid international fears about the outbreak,” the Washington Post reports.
“Among the options being considered are pursuing a targeted tax cut package… They have also discussed whether the White House should lean even harder on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, though the central bank on Friday afternoon said it would step in if necessary.”
The Hardest Job In the World
A must-read: The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency by John Dickerson.
As Lyndon Johnson observed: “The office is kinda like the little country boy found a hoochie coochie show at the carnival. Once he paid his dime and got inside the tent: it ain’t exactly as it was advertised.”
Appeals Court Blocks Wisconsin Voter Purge
“A Wisconsin appeals court Friday struck down an Ozaukee County judge’s ruling that thousands of people had to be quickly removed from the state’s voter rolls because they are believed to have moved,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
“The appeals decision affects more than 200,000 voters who were targeted to be taken off the rolls in one of the most closely watched states for this year’s presidential election.”
Can America Run a Fair Election?
Chris Riback talks to law professor Rick Hasen, author of the new book Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy.
Terry McAuliffe Nears Endorsement of Biden
Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has told associates that he may endorse Joe Biden on Sunday if the former vice president turns in a strong first-place finish in Saturday’s South Carolina primary, the Washington Post reports.
Trump Wants to Cut Corporate Taxes Again
Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said that President Trump wants to cut the corporate tax rate again, to 20% from the current 21%, Politico reports.
Mulvaney also said a proposal to index capital gains taxes for inflation is also on the table as the administration crafts its long-promised plan for a second round of tax cuts.
Iranian Deaths from Coronavirus Much Higher
Iranian sources tell the BBC that at least 210 people have died of coronavirus in the country.
That suggests Iran’s government has been hiding nearly seven times the true scale of the virus. The current official death toll in Iran stands at 34.
Sanders Group Used Racial Discrimination NDA
“A political advocacy group founded by Bernie Sanders entered into a nondisclosure agreement with an African American political consultant that bars her from discussing a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination at the organization and the Vermont senator’s 2016 presidential campaign,” the AP reports.
Court Halts Trump’s ‘Remain In Mexico’ Policy
A federal appeals court in California halted the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” immigration policy on Friday, a blow to the president’s restrictive immigration agenda that cripples one of the government’s approaches to curbing migration across the U.S. southern border, the Washington Post reports.
Democratic Race at a Tipping Point
Jonathan Chait: “The more it looks like no one will win a majority, the more the also-rans have an incentive to stay in and win enough delegates to hope to have some clout at the convention. Take, for example, Amy Klobuchar. After disappointing in Nevada, Klobuchar no longer appears to have any realistic chance at winning the nomination. She’s polling in single digits nationally and in South Carolina; her plausible path involved Biden’s collapse, which was certainly possible but hasn’t happened. Still, Silver’s model projects her to win about 65 delegates if she sticks around. That’s not much, but if her delegates would vote for the candidate of her choice in a contested convention, it might be worth the costs of staying in.”
“The same is probably true at this point for Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg, although at least they are close enough to second place in the South Carolina polls that they might hope to surprise there and get a bounce in the Super Tuesday contests. As for Michael Bloomberg, who isn’t on the ballot on Saturday but will finally compete on Tuesday, it’s been true from the start and continues to be true that the most likely effect of his campaign is to split the mainstream liberal vote and make Sanders the nominee.”
Sanders Holds Big Leads In Texas and California
A new CNN poll in Texas finds Bernie Sanders leads the Democratic field with 29%, followed by Joe Biden at 20%, Michael Bloomberg at 18% and Elizabeth Warren is at 15%. No other candidate reaches double-digits.
In California, Sanders leads with 35%, followed by Warren at 14%, Biden at 13% and Bloomberg at 12%.
A Berkeley IGS poll in California finds Sanders at 34%, Warren at 17%, Bloomberg at 12% and Buttigieg at 11%.
A new Univision/University of Houston poll in Texas finds Sanders leading with 265, followed by Biden and Bloomberg tied at 20%.
One In Four Think Obama Has Endorsed Bloomberg
A new Morning Consult survey found that 26% of Democratic primary voters believe former President Barack Obama has endorsed Michael Bloomberg for president and 25% think he’s endorse Joe Biden.
However, Obama has not yet endorsed any candidate.
