Bonus Quote of the Day
“Cindy completely understands that my job as a senator from South Carolina, where Trump is popular, is to represent my state’s interest but also to be a voice for the things that matter to her, me, Senator McCain and the country.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by the Washington Post, on how Cindy McCain views his support of President Trump.
Majority of Americans Want to Hear from Mueller
A new Economist/YouGov Poll finds that a 54% of Americans agree with congressional Democrats about wanting to hear from special counsel Robert Mueller himself about the Russia investigation and its findings, while just 20% disagree.
Also interesting: By 54% to 22%, Americans want the full Mueller report released to Congress.
Pelosi Says the Country Is Facing a Constitutional Crisis
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she agrees with House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler’s claim yesterday that the U.S. is in a “constitutional crisis” over the White House’s stonewalling of congressional oversight, Axios reports.
Said Pelosi: “The administration has decided they are not going to honor their oath of office.”
She added that she will bring Attorney General William Barr’s contempt of Congress resolution to the floor when they are ready: “We’ll just see because there might be some other contempt of Congress issues that we want to deal with at the same time.”
Alabama Passes Nation’s Strictest Abortion Bill
The Alabama state Senate passed a bill that would make performing an abortion a felony, with few exceptions, the Washington Post reports.
The bill needs Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s (R) signature before it becomes law.
“Republican governors and legislators are using new highly restrictive abortion laws to get abortion back in front of what they believe is the friendliest U.S. Supreme Court in decades.”
Update: The Washington Post issued a correction on this story and said the bill had not yet passed and had been tabled for consideration next week.
Senators Sound Alarms Over Looming Budget Battles
“Alarm bells are starting to go off on Capitol Hill over a looming fight to fund the government and prevent a shutdown later this year,” The Hill reports.
“Though Congress has until the end of September to pass legislation preventing another funding lapse, lawmakers are sending up warning signs to their colleagues and the White House that they are heading toward a fall train wreck, with deadlines for raising the debt ceiling and preventing across-the-board budget cuts and the second shutdown of the year all in the same month.”
508 State Legislative Seats Flipped In 2018
Ballotpedia: “On November 6, 2018, elections were held for 6,073 state legislative seats across 87 of the nation’s 99 state legislative chambers. Five hundred and eight elections (8.3%) resulted in control of a seat changing to a new party. Of the 508 flips, 391 (77.0%) were Republican seats that flipped to Democrats and 93 (18.2%) were Democratic seats that flipped to Republicans.”
Quote of the Day
“I would love him regardless of what he did. He’s part of our family. That’s doesn’t affect our friendship at all.”
— Cindy McCain, in an interview with the Washington Post, on her relationship with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and his support of President Trump.
Secret U.S. Missile Aims to Kill Only Terrorists
“The U.S. government has developed a specially designed, secret missile for pinpoint airstrikes that kill terrorist leaders with no explosion, drastically reducing damage and minimizing the chances of civilian casualties,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“A modified version of the well-known Hellfire missile, the weapon carries an inert warhead. Instead of exploding, it is designed to plunge more than 100 pounds of metal through the tops of cars and buildings to kill its target without harming individuals and property close by.”
Delays at Supreme Court Push Divisive Cases Into 2020
“In January the Supreme Court appeared poised to act on President Trump’s bid to end deportation protection for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants. Then the case disappeared,” Bloomberg reports.
“The case has become one of the many mysteries in a Supreme Court term that so far is defined less by the issues the justices have decided than by those they’ve deferred. The court has also put off taking action in cases involving abortion, same-sex wedding cakes and transgender bathroom access.”
“The delays have kept the court out of the some of the country’s most polarizing issues, at least during the nine-month term that ends in June. The court now faces the possibility of a massive 2019-20 term, issuing major decisions in the heat of the next presidential election campaign.”
Maryland Republicans Prefer Trump Over Hogan
A new Gonzales Research poll in Maryland finds Republicans overwhelmingly support President Trump in a hypothetical presidential primary match up with Gov. Larry Hogan (R), 68% to 24%.
This comes even as Hogan’s job approval rating among all Maryland voters is 76%, while Trump’s is 39%.
Trump Jokes About Shooting Migrants
“President Trump was tickled Wednesday when an audience member at a Florida rally suggested shooting migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border,” USA Today reports.
“Trump was bemoaning the legal protections afforded migrants and espousing the need for a border wall when he asked rhetorically, ‘How do you stop these people?'”
Someone shouted: “Shoot them!”
“The remark drew a chuckle from the president, who then shook his head, pointed in the audience member’s direction and said, ‘Only in the Panhandle you can get away with that statement. Only in the Panhandle.'”
Washington Post: “Though Trump didn’t explicitly endorse the suggestion to shoot migrants, his joking response raised concerns that he was tacitly encouraging extrajudicial killings and brutality against asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants.”
Democrats’ Generic Ballot Edge Endures
Kyle Kondik: “Let’s start here with a caveat: House generic ballot polling from a year and a half before a general election should not be treated as predictive. The 2020 House election depends on a lot of factors that remain unknowable, most importantly the tone-setting effect of the presidential race, which at this point appears to be something of a 50-50 proposition.”
“That said, if you’re looking for signs of a growing backlash against the new Democratic-majority U.S. House of Representatives, you won’t find it in national generic ballot polling so far.”
“Democrats led the House generic ballot the whole way in the 2017-2018 RealClearPolitics average. From Jan. 1, 2017 through April 30, 2017, there were 12 generic ballot polls included. The Democrats led every single one, and by an average of six points.”
“This year, from Jan. 1 through April 30, there are 11 polls in the average, and the Democrats lead in every one… by an average of six points.”
‘It’s Time to Break Up Facebook’
Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes argues in the New York Times that the social media giant must be broken up.
“Mark’s influence is staggering, far beyond that of anyone else in the private sector or in government. He controls three core communications platforms — Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — that billions of people use every day. Facebook’s board works more like an advisory committee than an overseer, because Mark controls around 60 percent of voting shares. Mark alone can decide how to configure Facebook’s algorithms to determine what people see in their News Feeds, what privacy settings they can use and even which messages get delivered. He sets the rules for how to distinguish violent and incendiary speech from the merely offensive, and he can choose to shut down a competitor by acquiring, blocking or copying it.”
“Mark is a good, kind person. But I’m angry that his focus on growth led him to sacrifice security and civility for clicks. I’m disappointed in myself and the early Facebook team for not thinking more about how the News Feed algorithm could change our culture, influence elections and empower nationalist leaders. And I’m worried that Mark has surrounded himself with a team that reinforces his beliefs instead of challenging them.”
“Mark’s power is unprecedented and un-American. It is time to break up Facebook.”
House Democrats Aim Another Subpoena At Barr
“The House Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena on Wednesday to Attorney General William Barr over documents related to the special counsel investigation into the 2016 presidential election, the latest effort by congressional lawmakers to force the Justice Department to turn over special counsel Robert Mueller’s full report,” the HuffPost reports.
O’Rourke Hires ‘Unsung Hero’ Of Obama’s First Campaign
BuzzFeed News: “The low-profile Democratic lawyer who played a central role in Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s election campaigns, and who literally wrote the book on the obscure and crucial art of delegate selection, has gone to work for Beto O’Rourke.”
“There aren’t many presidential campaign staffers whose hires are worth a news article, but the lawyer, Jeff Berman, is one of them. Though he doesn’t work in the visible part of politics — admaking, messaging, communications, yelling at people on Twitter or cable news — Berman is America’s leading expert on the strange and at times undemocratic machine that is crucial to how parties select their candidates.”
“And his hire suggests that O’Rourke is trying to build a machine as well as a movement.”
Not All the Red Sox Will Visit the White House
Associated Press: “The Red Sox, who steamrolled to a World Series crown last October, are poised to visit the White House on Thursday. Team manager Alex Cora announced last week he would not attend, citing his frustration with the administration’s efforts to help his native Puerto Rico recover from a devastating hurricane. Nearly a dozen players, including American League MVP Mookie Betts, have said they will join him in skipping the ceremony.”
“All those bypassing the White House are players of color. Every white player on the team — as well as J.D. Martinez, who is of Cuban descent — was expected to attend.”
Meanwhile, CBS Boston notes the White House website welcomes ‘The Boston Red Socks.”
Mulvaney Didn’t Know About Trump Jr. Subpoena
White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told CBS News that he was blindsided by the GOP-led Senate Intelligence Committee subpoena for Donald Trump Jr to appear.
Said Mulvaney: ‘To subpoena the President of the United States’ son and not at least get a heads up I thought was, let’s say, bad form.”
The Hill: Senate GOP grows frustrated with Trump chief of staff.
