Political Wire

Trump Rescues Big Florida Fundraiser

October 30, 2019 at 9:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “President Trump’s promise to headline the Republican Party of Florida’s annual fundraiser has given it a much-needed financial and emotional boost going into 2020, even as the news has laid bare divisions within the state party’s leadership.”

“The party’s scramble to land a Trump visit culminated in a political victory for Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday and effectively left state GOP Chairman Joe Gruters with a title but no influence. The power play caps a monthslong effort by DeSantis to elbow the chairman out of power.”

22 Days Until Government Shuts Down

October 30, 2019 at 9:05 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “It’s a nightmare scenario for Washington: a government shutdown smack in the middle of the House’s impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. And Chuck Schumer says he’s ‘increasingly worried’ that it might come to fruition.”

Trump Weighs Options to Tap Cuccinelli

October 30, 2019 at 8:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “The White House is weighing legal options that could allow President Trump to appoint Ken Cuccinelli as the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.”

“Now, the White House is considering a plan allowing the administration to change the line of succession at the department to bypass the vacancies statute and appoint Mr. Cuccinelli or another pick. White House officials have asked the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel if such a plan is legal, one of the people familiar with the plan said.”

U.K. Rolls Dice on Brexit Election

October 30, 2019 at 8:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “After months of parliamentary stalemate, a bill paving the way for a December general election — the first since 1923 — overcame its first major hurdle on Tuesday night. MPs backed an election by a huge margin with 438 votes in favor and just 20 against.”

“Each of the U.K.’s main political parties are banking on a national ballot to unblock the Brexit paralysis in their favor — but by throwing the electoral dice in the air, they are all taking a gamble that the opposite Brexit outcome could come to pass.”

Trump Was ‘Tricked’ Into Leaving Some Troops In Syria

October 30, 2019 at 6:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Josh Rogin: “Biden lamented that Trump’s own friends and officials have essentially tricked him into leaving some troops in Syria by telling him he could control the oil there: ‘This is like feeding a baby its medicine in yogurt or applesauce.’”

He added: “It’s like dealing not with a commander in chief, but a whiner in chief. It’s bizarre.”

Mulvaney Kept In Dark About Baghdadi Raid

October 30, 2019 at 6:25 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney first learned about the U.S. military raid against ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after the operation was already underway,” NBC News reports.

“Mulvaney was at home in South Carolina when President Trump wrote on Twitter Saturday night that ‘Something very big has just happened!’ He was briefed on the raid that night.”

“The extraordinary move by Trump to leave his chief of staff out of the most significant U.S. military operation against the world’s most wanted terrorist since the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011 marks a major blow to Mulvaney, suggesting that he’s increasingly sidelined inside the White House.”

Bolton Warned About Giuliani Influence

October 30, 2019 at 6:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

CNN: “Former national security adviser John Bolton cautioned about the influence Rudy Giuliani had on US-Ukraine policymaking during a meeting in mid-June with top US officials, a career foreign service officer plans to tell Congress on Wednesday.”

“Christopher Anderson, who was former special envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker’s assistant from 2017-2019, is one of two State Department officials set to testify behind closed doors as part of the House Ukraine impeachment inquiry on Wednesday. Catherine Croft, who took over that role in the summer of 2019, is also scheduled to testify.”

Ex-GOP Lawmaker Pushed for Ambassador’s Ouster

October 30, 2019 at 6:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Robert Livingston, the former Republican congressman turned lobbyist, repeatedly told a foreign service officer assigned to the White House that the American ambassador to Ukraine should be fired because of her association with Democrats, the officer plans to tell impeachment investigators on Wednesday.”

How Americans Split on Health Care

October 30, 2019 at 6:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new New York Times/Harvard poll asked Americans to pick their favorite health care plan from three choices. “One resembled the Medicare for all proposal; one was like more incremental Democratic proposals; and one was like a plan proposed by congressional Republicans, which would reduce federal involvement in the health system and give more money and autonomy to states.”

“The share of the public supporting each option wound up being almost identical — around 30% each.”

“That means that most Americans support Democratic approaches to changing the health care system. But that group is about evenly split between an expansive set of changes under the Medicare for all proposal favored by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, and a less sweeping overhaul that would simply move the country closer to universal coverage, such as those from Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg.”

Buttigieg Distances Himself from His McKinsey Days

October 30, 2019 at 6:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “For years, Buttigieg’s stint at McKinsey & Company, the international management consulting firm, formed a key part of his political biography — from selling Hoosiers on his “experience around economics and business” as a green, 28-year-old candidate for Indiana state treasurer to talking earlier this year about the ‘perspective’ he gained as part of the business world. But the resume line has faded from Buttigieg’s stump speech amid revelations about McKinsey’s work with authoritarian governments and growing skepticism of large corporations.”

Battleground State Voters Back Impeachment Probe

October 30, 2019 at 6:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

By 52% to 44%, voters across six battleground states oppose impeaching and removing President Trump from office according to a new New York Times Upshot/Siena College poll of registered voters in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

But, by 52% to 44%, voters across the six states support the impeachment inquiry being conducted by the House of Representatives.

Half of Voters Ready for Gay President

October 30, 2019 at 6:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Morning Consult poll finds 50% of voters said they were either definitely or probably ready to have a commander in chief who is openly gay, compared with 37% who said they were either definitely or probably not ready.

Kushner Talks Impeachment

October 30, 2019 at 5:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jared Kushner told Israel’s Channel 13 that President Trump’s record is “unimpeachable.”

Loophole for Homeland Security Appointment

October 29, 2019 at 11:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The White House has found a way to bypass a federal statute that dictates who can fill secretary positions, potentially allowing President Trump to choose whomever he wants to lead the Department of Homeland Security… The route may run through an office established to counter weapons of mass destruction,” the New York Times reports.

“The law states that acting officials who take over cabinet-level positions must be next in the line of succession, have the approval of the Senate or have served 90 days under the previous secretary.”

“The White House, however, is exploring a loophole in the law… Under this route, the White House would tap someone to be the assistant secretary of the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, which is vacant, and then elevate that person to be the acting secretary of homeland security.”

Vindman Sought to Correct Transcript of Trump Call

October 29, 2019 at 9:04 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, told House impeachment investigators on Tuesday that the White House transcript of a July call between President Trump and Ukraine’s president omitted crucial words and phrases, and that his attempts to restore them failed,” the New York Times reports.

“The omissions, Colonel Vindman said, included Mr. Trump’s assertion that there were recordings of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. discussing Ukraine corruption, and an explicit mention by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, of Burisma Holdings, the energy company whose board employed Mr. Biden’s son Hunter.”

“Colonel Vindman, who appeared on Capitol Hill wearing his dark blue Army dress uniform and military medals, told House impeachment investigators that he tried to change the reconstructed transcript made by the White House staff to reflect the omissions. But while some of his edits appeared to have been successful, he said, those two corrections were not made.”

Islamic State Defector Critical to Raid’s Success

October 29, 2019 at 8:55 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“U.S. commandos zeroed in on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s final hideout with the help of an extraordinarily well-placed informant, an Islamic State operative who facilitated the terrorist leader’s movements around Syria and even helped oversee construction work on his Syrian safe house, according to U.S. and Middle East-based officials knowledgeable about the operation,” the Washington Post reports.

“The mole’s detailed knowledge of Baghdadi’s whereabouts as well as the room-by-room layout of his sanctuary proved to be critical in the Oct. 26 raid that ended with the death of the world’s most-wanted terrorist.”

Papadopoulos to Run for Katie Hill’s Seat

October 29, 2019 at 8:50 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“George Papadopoulos, a former Trump campaign aide who was a key figure in the FBI’s Russia probe, filed paperwork Tuesday to run for the U.S. House seat being vacated by Democrat Katie Hill,” the AP reports.

Vindman’s Testimony Appears to Contradict Rick Perry

October 29, 2019 at 5:50 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Testimony from Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman “appeared to contradict Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s ardent denials that he ever heard former Vice President Joe Biden or his son Hunter discussed in relation to U.S. requests that Ukraine investigate corruption,” Politico reports.

Washington Post: The full Trump-Ukraine timeline, as of now.

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