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Gillibrand Defends Calling on Franken to Resign

January 19, 2019 at 10:59 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) “defended her decision to call on former Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) to resign after allegations of unwanted touching and kissing were made against him,” CNN reports.

Gillibrand said that she made the decision to help push him out because “my silence meant I was defending him and carrying his water, which I was unwilling to do.”

She added: “Enough was enough. Al Franken is entitled to whatever process wanted, if he wanted to say and wait six months for his ethics hearing. His decision was to resign. My decision was not to remain silent.”

Will Larry Hogan Challenge Trump In a Primary?

January 19, 2019 at 10:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bret Stephens: “Hogan is attracting notice partly because he just romped to re-election over the progressive Democrat Ben Jealous — becoming the first G.O.P. governor to win re-election in Maryland since 1954 — and partly because he’s one of only three Republican governors in deep-blue states (Massachusetts’s Charlie Baker and Vermont’s Phil Scott are the other two). His approval rating is 68 percent in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1.”

“But mostly Hogan makes no secret of his disdain for the president, though he goes out of his way to avoid mentioning his name.”

Trump Will Make Offer to End Shutdown

January 19, 2019 at 9:33 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump plans to offer Democrats another proposal to end the shutdown when he addresses the nation from the White House on Saturday afternoon,” CNN reports.

“Trump’s idea is to put something on the table to get Democrats to engage with negotiations. Trump is not expected to back down from his demand for a border wall, but the plan will seek to entice Democrats by offering other concessions.”

“However, this plan is not based on negotiations with Democrats and White House officials are pessimistic that it will change much in stalled talks, because Democrats have previously refused to counter the White House’s proposal.”

O’Rourke’s Road Trip Drives Home His Message

January 19, 2019 at 9:30 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Beto O’Rourke is five states into his stream-of-consciousness road trip across the American Southwest, unaccompanied as he drops into a small-town diner for cobbler, washes his face in a lake and journals about the need to ‘clear my head,'” Politico reports.

“All of which is unfolding as the rest of the Democratic presidential field has broken into a sprint — Elizabeth Warren to New Hampshire, Kirsten Gillibrand to Iowa, and Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker to South Carolina… His absence from the fray has been noted — and his introspective writing style has been mocked. But amid much snickering, there is also evidence to suggest that if he does run for president, it could help him politically, advancing his off-beat brand.”

“With his online following, O’Rourke remains close to the 2020 conversation regardless of his location. And in the span of several days, he has generated a torrent of media coverage that — unlike Democrats in more public settings — he alone can control.”

Georgia Lawmaker Who Defended KKK Named to Key Post

January 19, 2019 at 9:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Georgia House Speaker David Ralston (R) named as one of his committee chairs a state representative who opposed the erection of a statue to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the grounds of the State Capitol and said the Ku Klux Klan made “people straighten up,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

Rep. Tommy Benton (R) will chair the House Retirement Committee, which oversees the retirement funds for Georgia teachers and state employees.

Harris Was Early ‘No’ Vote on Border Wall

January 19, 2019 at 8:07 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A little-noticed vote cast last year by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) angered her fellow Democrats, but it also gave her a way to stand out from the crowd on the key issue of immigration if, as expected, she seeks the party’s presidential nomination in 2020,” Bloomberg reports.

“Defying President Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion in wall funding is a unifying message for Democrats with the 2020 campaign already under way. But in February 2018, Democrats were willing to grant Trump $25 billion to build a barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border in exchange for giving young undocumented ‘Dreamers’ a path to citizenship.”

“Harris was one of just three Senate Democrats to reject that deal, provoking the anger of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, colleagues and some immigration activists… Some of them suggested that Harris already had 2020 in mind.”

Democrats Propose to Add $1 Billion in Border Spending

January 19, 2019 at 7:56 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“House Democrats have added more than $1 billion in border-related spending to a package of funding bills that would reopen most of the government, even as President Trump said he would have a ‘major announcement’ on Saturday about the border and the shutdown stalemate,” the New York Times reports.

“Both sides’ actions were the first indications of possible movement over the shutdown after a week of inertia and harsh words between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Mr. Trump.”

“The proposal to include more spending on border measures is scheduled for a vote next week… The plan reflects a shift in strategy by congressional Democrats, who have maintained that they would not give the president a counterproposal until he drops his insistence on a wall and signs legislation to reopen the government.”

Why Trump Can’t Make Deals

January 19, 2019 at 12:39 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Los Angeles Times: “As Trump reaches the halfway mark of his term on Sunday, he has left a trail of negotiating partners from both chambers of Congress, both political parties and countries around the world feeling double-crossed and even lied to.”

“The result is that the president who campaigned as the world’s best deal-maker, vowing that he alone could fix Washington’s dysfunction, has been stymied as he looks for achievements before facing the voters again. Two years in, the man who built a political reputation as a guy who tells it like it is has lost the essential ingredients to closing deals: credibility and trust.”

Surveys Show Shutdown Eroding Faith In Economy

January 19, 2019 at 12:34 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “On Friday, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to the lowest point of the Trump presidency, well below forecasters’ expectations. Analysts attributed the drop largely to the partial government shutdown, which has entered its fifth week.”

“Economic confidence also fell, across nearly all demographic groups, in a poll conducted this month for The New York Times by the online research firm SurveyMonkey.”

2020 Democrats Ignore Trump

January 19, 2019 at 12:31 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “Trump, who recently pined about being lonely in the White House, is lately finding himself in a position he’s rarely been in over the past few years: Ignored.”

“His political cachet has been driven by an unerring ability to goad other people into fights that benefit him. The metric he cares about is owning the television ratings and national attention, more than polling or anything else.”

“So what happens when, instead, he is met with something of a shrug?”

“The new silent treatment limits Trump’s ability to dictate national coverage and frame the day’s debate. And it’s providing an early template for how Democratic presidential candidates may attempt to deal with him in 2020, essentially forcing him out of a conversation they want to have with voters.”

Schultz Mulling Independent Bid for President

January 18, 2019 at 9:25 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Advisers to former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz have been exploring the possibility of launching an independent bid for the White House in 2020,” the Washington Post reports.

“The entry of a high-profile billionaire Democrat outside the traditional party structure would add an unpredictable dynamic to the increasingly sprawling campaign to deny President Trump a second term.”

Mueller Disputes Report on Cohen

January 18, 2019 at 8:32 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Less than 24 hours after the news site BuzzFeed reported that the president instructed his personal attorney to lie to Congress about his push for a Moscow real estate project, special counsel Robert Mueller’s office put out a statement firmly disputing the reporting,” the Washington Post reports.

“The statement was remarkable on several levels — first, the special counsel’s office speaks exceedingly rarely, and second, the statement seemed to drive a stake through a sensational allegation that Democratic lawmakers suggested earlier in the day could spell the end of the Trump presidency.”

BuzzFeed responded: “We are continuing to report and determine what the special counsel is disputing. We remain confident in the accuracy of our report.”

It Must Be Miserable to Be Donald Trump

January 18, 2019 at 5:54 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

George Will: “Dislike of him should be tempered by this consideration: He is an almost inexpressibly sad specimen. It must be misery to awaken to another day of being Donald Trump. He seems to have as many friends as his pluperfect self-centeredness allows, and as he has earned in an entirely transactional life. His historical ignorance deprives him of the satisfaction of working in a house where much magnificent history has been made. His childlike ignorance — preserved by a lifetime of single-minded self-promotion — concerning governance and economics guarantees that whenever he must interact with experienced and accomplished people, he is as bewildered as a kindergartener at a seminar on string theory.”

“Which is why this fountain of self-refuting boasts (‘I have a very good brain’) lies so much. He does so less to deceive anyone than to reassure himself. And as balm for his base, which remains oblivious to his likely contempt for them as sheep who can be effortlessly gulled by preposterous fictions. The tungsten strength of his supporters’ loyalty is as impressive as his indifference to expanding their numbers.”

“Either the electorate, bored with a menu of faintly variant servings of boorishness, or the 22nd Amendment will end this, our shabbiest but not our first shabby presidency.”

White House Pushes Long Odds Strategy for Wall

January 18, 2019 at 5:46 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The White House has a new, long-shot idea for getting President Trump’s border wall: persuading the Senate to take up the president’s wall request to force a deal with the Democrats, then reopen the government,” Politico reports.

“As the government shutdown enters its fifth week, the White House wants the Senate to take up legislation that would provide $5.7 billion for a barrier along the southern border, among other options that have been discussed with GOP leaders. Vice President Mike Pence and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner met Thursday with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and one option batted around was for congressional committees to take up the border request and potentially amend it in committee, all while the government is shutdown, according to a person familiar with the talks.”

“But even Republicans on the Hill recognize the idea is a nonstarter.”

Court Filings Line Up with Bombshell Story

January 18, 2019 at 4:06 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Although the cable news network has not corroborated last night’s bombshell report that President Trump instructed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress, CNN reports there are a handful of distinct areas where reporting from BuzzFeed News lines up perfectly with court records, including the charging documents against Michael Cohen, sentencing memos and hearings.

Cohen Returns Home with Black Eye and Injured Arm

January 18, 2019 at 3:02 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Michael Cohen returned to his Manhattan apartment Friday after getting medical treatment – with his arm appearing to be in a sling on a day President Trump and his team once again branded him a liar,” the Daily Mail reports.

“Cohen could be seen Friday with his left arm covered, hanging in a sling. He was holding a full-size white pillow while sporting a possible black eye. His right hand had a small bandage of the kind used to cover a small wound by an IV. He also wore a red identification bracelet of the kind distributed by hospitals.”

“Cohen advisor Lanny Davis said Cohen had gone into the hospital for pre-scheduled shoulder surgery.”

Trump Will Hold Second Summit with North Korea

January 18, 2019 at 2:58 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump will meet with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, in late February, the White House announced on Friday, continuing a high-level diplomatic dialogue that has eased tensions but shown little progress in eliminating the North’s nuclear arsenal,” the New York Times reports.

“The announcement came after Mr. Trump met for 90 minutes in the Oval Office with Kim Yong-chol, the former North Korean intelligence chief who has acted as the chief nuclear negotiator for Mr. Kim.”

Texas Republican Calls Border Crisis a ‘Myth’

January 18, 2019 at 2:20 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX), whose district includes 820 miles on the U.S.-Mexico border, told Rolling Stone that President Trump’s claim of a border crisis is a “myth,” and that a border wall is the “most expensive and least effective way to do border security” and is a “third-century solution to a 21st-century problem.”

He added that using eminent domain to take land for the border wall would impact more than 1,000 Texas property owners.