Politico: “Two rising stars in California are about to collide: Sen. Kamala Harris of San Francisco and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. As potential Democratic presidential candidates in 2020, the pair might soon be asking the activists and donors who have known them their entire political careers to finally choose sides. It’s a thorny dilemma for California Democrats, but one that could be commonplace over the next two years. At least eight states have multiple Democrats considering national bids, an unprecedented development that threatens to fracture the party in some of the bluest states in the nation.”
Schumer’s New Mood
“Until the government shutdown last week, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer believed cutting a deal with President Trump was his best chance to protect ‘dreamers,’ the more than 1 million undocumented immigrants who had arrived in this country as children,” the Washington Post reports.
“Now the faith has been broken, and the Democratic leader says he is charting a new path.”
Said Schumer: “Unless Donald Trump realizes that the kind of deal I offered is good for him, it’s better that he stays away. If he disappears, we still, I think, have a very good chance to pass things, as long as he doesn’t mess it all up, which could very well happen.”
Republicans May Go After Rod Rosenstein
New York Times: “A secret, highly contentious Republican memo reveals that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein approved an application to extend surveillance of a former Trump campaign associate shortly after taking office last spring, according to three people familiar with it. The renewal shows that the Justice Department under President Trump saw reason to believe that the associate, Carter Page, was acting as a Russian agent.”
“But the reference to Mr. Rosenstein’s actions in the memo — a much-disputed document that paints the investigation into Russian election meddling as tainted from the start — indicates that Republicans may be moving to seize on his role as they seek to undermine the inquiry.”
Under Fire
Coming this fall: Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House by April Ryan.
GOP Lawmakers See No Urgency In Protecting Mueller
“Republican lawmakers warned President Trump on Sunday not to fire Robert Mueller, but showed little sense of urgency to advance long-stalled legislation to protect the special counsel despite a report that Mr. Trump had tried to remove him last June,” the New York Times reports.
Said House majority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA): “I don’t think there’s a need for legislation right now to protect Mueller. Right now there’s not an issue. So why create one when there isn’t a place for it?”
Washington Post: GOP splits on protecting Mueller.
Perjury Panic at the White House
Jonathan Swan: “I can’t overstate the level of anxiety among sources close to Trump after the president told the NYT’s Maggie Haberman last week he was willing and eager to submit himself to a live interview under oath with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.”
“One source, who knows Trump as well as anyone, told me he believes the president would be incapable of avoiding perjuring himself.”
Said the source: “Trump doesn’t deal in reality. He creates his own reality and he actually believes iIt.”
Trump Asked to Drop Immigration Demands
“Lawmakers in both parties said Sunday that the immigration debate should focus narrowly on efforts to legalize young immigrants known as “dreamers” and beef up border security, suggesting that President Trump’s demands to slash legal immigration levels are likely to sink a deal,” the Washington Post reports.
Trump Says He’d Be Tougher Than Theresa May
President Trump says he would take a “tougher” attitude toward Brexit negotiations than the approach now being used by British Prime Minister Theresa May, the AP reports.
Said Trump: “Would it be the way I negotiate? No, I wouldn’t negotiate it the way it’s (being) negotiated… I would have had a different attitude.”
He added: “I would have said that the European Union is not cracked up to what it’s supposed to be.”
Quote of the Day
“Everybody in the White House knows it’d be the end of President Trump’s presidency if he fires Mr. Mueller.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), in an ABC News interview,
Ex-Colorado GOP Chair Sentenced for Voter Fraud
Former Colorado GOP chairman Steve Curtis “was sentenced to four years of probation and 300 hours of community service for voter fraud,” CBS News reports.
He blamed a “major diabetic episode” for causing him to vote his ex-wife’s absentee ballot in October 2016.
Earlier quote from Curtis: “Virtually every case of voter fraud, that I can remember in my lifetime was committed by Democrats.”
Kansas Statehouse Interns Must Agree to Confidentiality
“Interns in the Kansas Statehouse are required to sign a sweeping confidentiality agreement that employment law attorneys warn could have a chilling effect on their willingness to report harassment or illegal activity,” the Kansas City Star reports.
“Anything that takes place or is said in a lawmaker’s office stays there, the document says, under threat of immediate termination.”
Tourism to the U.S. Drops Under Trump
NBC News: “Travel to the U.S. has been on the decline ever since President Trump took office, and new data from the Commerce Department shows the slump translates to a cost of $4.6 billion in lost spending and 40,000 jobs, according to an analysis by the U.S. Travel Association.”
“The latest data shows a 3.3 percent drop in travel spending and a 4 percent decline in inbound travel.”
George W. Bush Returns
“Donny Q. Trump came in and suddenly I’m looking pretty sweet by comparison.”
Rubio Fires His Chief of Staff
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) announced that he had fired his chief of staff after allegations of improper conduct, the New York Times reports.
After an internal investigation, he determined that the employee had “violated office policies regarding proper relations between a supervisor and their subordinates. I further concluded that this led to actions which in my judgment amounted to threats to withhold employment benefits.”
Russian Opposition Leader Arrested
“Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been arrested in Moscow as protest demonstrations called by him took place across the country,” the AP reports.
“He has called on supporters to continue the demonstrations despite his arrest Sunday.”
The Plot Against America
The Atlantic has a must-read profile of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort:
When Paul Manafort officially joined the Trump campaign, on March 28, 2016, he represented a danger not only to himself but to the political organization he would ultimately run. A lifetime of foreign adventures didn’t just contain scandalous stories, it evinced the character of a man who would very likely commandeer the campaign to serve his own interests, with little concern for the collective consequences.
Local Democrats Face Cash Crunch
Politico: “At a time when many Democratic candidates and groups are reporting record-breaking fundraising, the top state party officials gathered here for the meeting of the Association of State Democratic Committees say their local parties are cash-starved, raising the prospect that they won’t be able to take full advantage of what could be a historic opportunity in the midterm elections.”
“Local committees are in desperate need of more money if they’re going to support the costly precinct-level organizing and political groundwork needed to win back the House of Representatives, compete for the Senate and governor’s mansions, and swing back state legislatures, they say.”
Koch Will Spend $20 Million to Promote Tax Law
“After spending $20 million to push the tax-code overhaul through Congress, the influential Koch network is planning to spend up to another $20 million to educate the public about the benefits of the new law,” the Washington Post reports.
“The network views the education campaign, which will launch in February, as key to holding the Republican congressional majorities in the 2018 midterm elections.”
