Larry Kudlow is the leading contender to head President Trump’s National Economic Council and would take the job if offered it, CNBC reports.
Missouri is the Destination for Child Weddings
Kansas City Star: “Every other state requires some combination of a judge’s order, parents’ permission, premarital counseling or proof of pregnancy. Some flat-out prohibit marriages so young. But in Missouri, brides and grooms as young as 15 can marry with no more than the single approving swipe of their parent’s pen, even if the other parent objects.”
“Even children ages 14, 13, 12 or younger can marry in Missouri, as it remains one of 25 states with no minimum age requirement, although at 14 or younger, a judge must approve.”
“But 15? One signature.”
“The result: A review of some 50,000 marriage licenses shows how Missouri’s lax law has for years turned the state into a destination wedding spot for 15-year-old child brides, often rushing to get married.”
LePage Offers Job to Trump Staffer Accused of Abuse
Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) said that he was “100 percent behind” a former White House speechwriter accused of domestic abuse and even offered David Sorensen his old job back in his administration, the Portland Press Herald reports.
Exchange of the Day
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos spoke with Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes:
STAHL: Why have you become, people say, the most hated Cabinet secretary?
DEVOS: I’m not so sure exactly how that happened. But I think there are a lot of really powerful forces allied against change.
STAHL: Does it hurt?
DEVOS: Sometimes it does. Sometimes it does. Again, I think, I think …
STAHL: Do you ever say …
DEVOS: I’m more misunderstood than anything.
Stormy Daniels Offers to Return Trump’s Hush Money
Stormy Daniels offered to return $130,000 she received from Donald Trump’s personal lawyer in 2016 for agreeing not to discuss the alleged relationship, the New York Times reports.
RNC Builds an Army for November Elections
“Flush with cash and bracing for a challenging midterm election season, the Republican National Committee is preparing to deploy more staffers on the ground in key races than it has at this point in any election in the party’s history,” NBC News reports.
“The RNC will add an additional 170 permanent staffers to its field program by the end of March, more than doubling the number already in the field to over 300. And the party expects to add 200 more before before the start of the summer.”
White House Scolds Cabinet Members on Ethics
“The White House held private meetings with four Cabinet-level officials last month to scold them for embarrassing stories about questionable ethical behavior at their respective agencies,” CNN reports.
“Internal watchdogs have launched at least nine audits, reviews or investigations across several Cabinet agencies, and stories about first-class travel, expensive office furniture, and internal strife have become commonplace.”
It’s Bad News Either Way for Trump
Greg Sargent: “Prediction: If Republican Rick Saccone scrapes out a close win in tomorrow’s special election for a House seat in southwestern Pennsylvania, Donald Trump will claim it was all because of Donald Trump. But if Saccone falls just short, Donald Trump will claim it was all because Saccone didn’t sufficiently emulate Donald Trump.”
“But either way, it will be very bad news for Donald Trump. This isn’t just because this election is deep in the heart of Trump country. It’s also because the failure of the Trump/Republican argument to prevent this contest from being so close also carries ominous signs for the GOP this fall.”
For members: A Wave Is Still Coming Even If Conor Lamb Loses
Qataris Did Not Give Info on Kushner to Mueller
“Qatari officials gathered evidence of what they claim is illicit influence by the United Arab Emirates on Jared Kushner and other Trump associates, including details of secret meetings, but decided not to give the information to Special Counsel Robert Mueller for fear of harming relations with the Trump administration,” NBC News reports.
“Qatari officials believe the meetings — as well as fallout from Qatari business dealings with Kushner — may have influenced President Trump’s public endorsement of a blockade of Qatar by its neighbors that began last year.”
White House Says Trump Would Know About Collusion
“If special counsel Robert Mueller one day proves that someone on the 2016 Trump campaign colluded with Russia, a top White House spokesman may live to regret what he said Sunday,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Raj Shah: “There’s been zero evidence, after a year of investigation, that we’ve seen of actual collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign. The president, who would be aware of any types of efforts, has been pretty clear, understands and knows that there is no collusion. And so, as he has said, this investigation is everything from a hoax to a witch hunt. It’s not going to find any evidence of collusion.”
“Okay, but what if it does? Shah has just ruled out the idea that someone else could have colluded with Russia without Trump’s knowledge. If we find out one day that someone within the campaign did collude, Shah’s remarks suggest that Trump had to have known about it. There’s no other way to read them.”
Trump Jr. Partners with Donor Who Pitched Government
“Donald Trump Jr. has a previously undisclosed business relationship with a longtime hunting buddy who helped raise millions of dollars for his father’s 2016 presidential campaign and has had special access to top government officials since the election,” the AP reports.
“The president’s eldest son and Texas hedge fund manager Gentry Beach have been involved in business deals together dating back to the mid-2000s and recently formed a company — Future Venture LLC — despite past claims by both men that they were just friends.”
A Wave Is Still Coming Even If Conor Lamb Loses
This piece is only available to Political Wire members.
Despite polls showing the race a dead heat, Conor Lamb (D) has to be considered the underdog in tomorrow’s special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district. President Trump won the district by 20 points in 2016 and Republicans have poured more than $8 million into the race. The seat is deemed so safe for Republicans that former Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) ran unopposed in 2014 and 2016.
That’s why it shouldn’t be a surprise if Rick Saccone (R) snuck out a victory in a similar way to how Republicans held Georgia’s 6th congressional district after several months in the national spotlight.
Since Donald Trump took office, there have been 95 special elections for state legislative seats across the country. Democrats in these contests have on average performed 13.5 percentage points better than Hillary Clinton did in 2016. Democrats have flipped many of these seats. But if that trend held in this week’s election, Lamb would lose by about 7 points. He’ll need a massive surge to prevail.
Yet even if Saccone wins, the victory will be short-lived. After a court-ordered redistricting, the seat will not even exist in its current form in November.
The new map splits most of the district between a solidly Republican 14th district and a more balanced suburban 17th district. If Saccone wins, he says he’ll run for re-election in the 14th district. If Lamb wins, he’ll run in the 17th against Rep. Keith Rothfus (R-PA).
Nonetheless, the race is worth the attention because most election handicappers say it’s a toss up. The last four polls of the race are within the margin of error.
There’s no way Republicans can afford to put this much time and money into every congressional election this November. If Republicans ares struggling in Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district, Democrats will win many seats in November.
That’s why even if Lamb loses the race after weeks in the national spotlight, it will still be consistent with the idea of a Democratic wave.
Ivanka Trump Never Cut Ties with the Trump Organization
McClatchy: “Ivanka Trump — a senior White House adviser who is doing everything from lobbying the Senate on tax policy to representing her father at a G20 summit of world leaders — will pull in more than $1 million a year from the family business that has continued to develop luxury resorts across the globe during the Trump presidency.”
“Some of those Trump-branded developments are hiring state-owned companies for construction, receiving gifts from foreign governments in the form of public land or eased regulations and accepting payments from customers who are foreign officials.”
“Ivanka Trump’s continued relationship with the businesses affiliated with the Trump Organization creates countless potential conflicts of interest prohibited by federal law and federal ethics standards as she works as a special assistant to the president. And just like her father, she is being accused of violating the so-called emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution that forbids government officials — not just presidents — from accepting gifts from foreign governments without the approval of Congress.”
Washington Has Attention-Deficit-Disorder
Politico: “Every time it seems the president has zeroed in on an issue, and appears determined to see it through — guns and immigration are just the two latest examples — he moves on to something else. And Congress, which isn’t designed to respond swiftly to national events and the wishes of the White House even in the least distracted of circumstances, simply can’t keep up.”
“The constant whiplash of priorities is getting on lawmakers’ nerves.”
Said Sen. Susan Collings (R-ME): “It’s unbelievable to me. The attention span just seems to be … it’s a real problem.”
Two Weeks Until the Government Runs Out of Money
Playbook: “Yes, here we are again, government funding runs out in less than two weeks, and there’s more drama developing behind the scenes.”
“Things to keep an eye on: Will Republicans in Congress keep funding for the so-called Gateway Tunnel, a new tunnel between New York and New Jersey? President Donald Trump has threatened to veto any funding bill that includes money for the project, but House Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) is retiring, and it’s one of his top priorities. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also wants it built, and Republicans will need Democratic votes.”
“Also Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), the House Freedom Caucus leader who is close to President Trump, tweeted over the weekend that the funding bill should cut off money for so-called sanctuary cities. This is a nonstarter for Democrats and could be a serious issue if the Freedom Caucus digs in on it.”
Mueller Weighs Putting Off Trump Obstruction Decision
“Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice is said to be close to completion, but he may set it aside while he finishes other key parts of his probe, such as possible collusion and the hacking of Democrats,” Bloomberg reports.
“That’s because Mueller may calculate that if he tries to bring charges in the obstruction case — the part that may hit closest to Trump personally — witnesses may become less cooperative in other parts of the probe, or the president may move to shut it down altogether.”
Trump’s Giddy Week
Jonathan Swan: “While senior officials and cabinet secretaries were struggling to keep up — and many eventually threw up their hands when they realized they couldn’t keep track of what was going on with tariffs and North Korea — Trump was careening around the building, acting as his own chief of staff, chief strategist, cable news producer, and communications director all rolled into one.”
“Sources who’ve spoken with the president in the past few days describe him as ‘giddy’ — a man who has finally fully indulged his itch to break free of John Kelly’s restraints.”
Trump Blames Democrats for Lack of Appointees
President Trump “blamed Senate Democrats for the dearth of experts at the State Department, ignoring the department’s high turnover and the number of positions for which there is no nominee,” Politico reports.
Said Trump on Twitter: “The Democrats continue to Obstruct the confirmation of hundreds of good and talented people who are needed to run our government… A record in U.S. history. State Department, Ambassadors and many others are being slow walked. Senate must approve now.”
