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A Warning Sign for the Separation of Powers

February 1, 2017 at 11:12 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rick Klein: “So most members of Congress had no idea the travel ban was coming, but a handful of congressional staffers helped the Trump administration write it? And they signed non-disclosure agreements so they wouldn’t even be able to tell their bosses (members of Congress, and, ultimately, US taxpayers) about the side work? And everyone is OK with this?”

“The disclosure that staffers on Rep. Robert Goodlatte’s House Judiciary Committee worked alongside Trump aides on this order should be rocking Capitol Hill. It suggests that the administration was trying to work as quickly as it could and as quietly as feasible – a potentially troubling template for the future. If members of Congress aren’t troubled by this, they’re missing a big warning sign for the separation of powers.”

Democrats Boycott Vote on Trump’s EPA Pick

February 1, 2017 at 11:03 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Senate Democrats boycotted a committee vote on President Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the GOP from moving his confirmation forward,” The Hill reports.

“None of the Democrats on the Environment and Public Works panel, led by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), went into the meeting room, depriving the committee of the two minority party members it requires for a quorum to vote on Scott Pruitt.”

Democrats tried to same tactic with the Senate Finance Committee, forcing the GOP to suspend the rules to allow a vote.

Clinton’s New Book Will Reflect on 2016 Loss

February 1, 2017 at 10:50 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Hillary Clinton is working on a book of personal essays that will come out this fall, the AP reports.

“The book, still untitled, is structured around hundreds of favorite quotations that have inspired her. The publisher said Clinton will use the quotes to ‘tell stories from her life, up to and including her experiences in the 2016 presidential campaign’ and into her thoughts on the future.”

Senate GOP Suspends Rules on Nominations

February 1, 2017 at 10:43 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Senate Republicans “took an extraordinary step to move forward with two of President Trump’s top Cabinet nominees after confronting a boycott from Democrats across the aisle,” CNN reports.

“Republican lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee — the panel that oversees the nomination of Steve Mnuchin to be Treasury secretary and Rep. Tom Price to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services — gathered for the second day in a row with Democrats on the committee refusing to show up.”

“Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) allowed the Republicans on the committee to vote to suspend the rules of the committee… Under the rules, it is required that at least one Democrat be present for the panel to vote to send a nominee to the Senate floor. On Tuesday, not a single Democrat showed up, putting the two nominations at a standstill. With the committee rules suspended, the 14 Republicans in the room voted Wednesday morning to move the Mnuchin and Price nominations to the full Senate.”

Rick Hasen: “Let’s be clear: the Senate will mostly function like a majority institution if that’s what Republicans want, including on confirming Judge Gorsuch. But then they own everything. And will reap what they sow when they are in the minority.”

Looking for Votes in All the Wrong Places

February 1, 2017 at 10:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Just out: Looking for Votes in All the Wrong Places: Tales and Rules from the Campaign Trail by Rick Ridder.

“Rick takes us on a whirlwind spin through his eventful career from the McGovern campaign to more recent candidates and causes. As he does so, he reveals his ’22 rules of campaign management’―each one illustrated by entertaining, instructive, and mostly true stories from his own experiences.”

Obstruction Works

February 1, 2017 at 9:01 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

First Read: “A year ago, it was Senate Republicans refusing to even grant a hearing to Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick, and Democrats complaining of obstruction. And now the roles are reversed: Senate Democrats are vowing to filibuster Gorsuch’s nomination, while Republicans are the ones demanding a fair hearing…”

“But here’s the reality of things in the U.S. Senate: 100% obstruction works, and the offending party pays almost no price. (You could argue that, in 2012, Mitt Romney paid a price for GOP obstructionism, but the senators and congressmen never did.) That’s how Republicans won in the 2010 and 2014 midterms, and how they’re on the brink of replacing Antonin Scalia with Neil Gorsuch — instead of Merrick Garland. And it’s why Democrats will probably dig their heels here, even if it will be difficult (if not impossible) to deny Gorsuch confirmation.”

Jonathan Chait: “Democrats have an extremely simple choice. They can make McConnell abolish the filibuster, or wait for the day when McConnell attacks them for doing it. It is McConnell, his extraordinary blockade tactic, who has functionally changed the rules of the game. He should be forced to do it in name.”

How Trump Could Rearrange the U.S. House

February 1, 2017 at 9:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Ron Brownstein and Leah Askarinham: “The sharply polarized nature of Trump’s appeal—which has generated magnetic attraction for blue-collar and non-urban whites, broad opposition among minorities, and unusually high resistance among white-collar whites—has the potential to deepen this sorting process, analysts in both parties agree. The vividly contrasting voting patterns of 2016, with Trump posting big gains over Romney in heavily blue-collar House districts and Clinton improving over Obama in a broad swathe of white-collar districts, may have offered a fast-forward preview of how the House may evolve in coming years.”

“All initial evidence suggests Trump’s presidency—with its deeply polarizing approaches to immigration, trade, health care, climate, and foreign policy—will widen, rather than narrow, the fissures that emerged around in his election. That means for 2018 and beyond, each party’s electoral target list may grow increasingly focused on the members caught, in effect, behind enemy lines: the last few Democrats representing heavily blue-collar districts and the larger number of Republicans in mostly white-collar suburban seats.”

For members: Did Trump Kickstart a Political Re-Alignment?

Melania May Stay In New York City

February 1, 2017 at 8:33 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Though Donald, 70, and his wife Melania announced in November that the first lady would relocate from New York City to Washington D.C. once their 10-year-old son Barron finished up the school year, a family insider reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly that may not happen.”

Said the source: “They will reevaluate toward the end of the school year if they will keep this arrangement or if Melania and Barron will move to Washington. They could go either way right now. They will ultimately do what’s best for Barron.”

Steyer Expands Focus to Take on Trump

February 1, 2017 at 8:21 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Tom Steyer “will expand the focus of his environmental political advocacy group, NextGen Climate Action, to fund initiatives and candidates with an eye to issues well beyond the realm of climate change,” BuzzFeed reports.

“The 59-year-old Steyer, a San Francisco hedge fund manager and possible contender for next year’s California governor’s race, said he made the decision to broaden his reach in response to Trump and to a legislative agenda he described as ‘deplorable’ and ‘a barrage against the basic fabric of American society.'”

Trump Considering More Immigration Restrictions

February 1, 2017 at 8:15 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration is considering a plan to weed out would-be immigrants who are likely to require public assistance, as well as to deport — when possible — immigrants already living in the United States who depend on taxpayer help,” according to a draft executive order obtained by the Washington Post.

The administration would be seeking to “deny admission to any alien who is likely to become a public charge” and to develop standards for “determining whether an alien is deportable . . . for having become a public charge within five years of entry” — receiving a certain amount of public assistance, including food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Medicaid.

One-in-Four Believe Trump’s Voter Fraud Claims

February 1, 2017 at 8:03 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds that 25% of voters believe President Trump’s unsupported claim that millions of votes were illegally cast in the 2016 election.

However, 35% say that if there was voter fraud it’s more likely any improper votes benefited Trump while 30 percent say they benefited Hillary Clinton.

Trump Chose an Odd Time to Blast Schumer

February 1, 2017 at 7:29 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Playbook: “Earlier this week, President Donald Trump mocked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for crying about the plight of immigrants, saying he was faking, and wondering aloud from the White House who his acting coach was. Yesterday, he followed that up by calling him ‘Fake Tears Chuck Schumer’ to his 23 million Twitter followers. Now he’s asking Schumer to expedite the consideration and support Neil Gorsuch, his nominee for the Supreme Court. Do you think that’s how this works, Mr. President?”

How Trump Kept His Supreme Court Pick Secret

February 1, 2017 at 7:23 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “After receiving the president’s call, Gorsuch and his wife traveled to a neighbor’s house in Boulder, Colo. They were met by a team of lawyers from the White House Counsel’s Office, who briefed the judge on the announcement plans for Tuesday and helped him prepare for the frenzy that would come.”

“The White House aides ferried Gorsuch down a quiet farm road to the airport, where they boarded a military jet for the flight to Joint Base Andrews, just outside of Washington… The judge and his wife stayed in Washington on Monday night at a private residence before visiting the White House on Tuesday, prior to the announcement.”

Should the Democrats Filibuster Gorsuch?

February 1, 2017 at 7:07 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rick Hasen: “My prediction is that they will not. Democrats seem to have a harder time with obstructionism than Republicans, and when you have prominent Democratic lawyers like Neal Katyal voicing support for Gorsuch, enough Democrats won’t have the stomach to filibuster, especially knowing it will end with Gorsuch on the Court anyway. Further, some Democrats may be hoping that by not filibustering they can keep channels open with those Senate Republicans who are willing to deal on other issues, whether or not this is actually true. If Senate Democrats are going to grow a spine, it probably won’t be this fight.”

Jonathan Chait: “Democrats are reportedly tempted to abandon the filibuster, so that it remains in place for a future Court fight… But this is fantastical. There is no ‘leverage’ gained by a weapon one’s opponent can disarm at will. The Supreme Court filibuster is like a pair of handcuffs in which the handcuffed person is holding a key.”

The Case for Blocking Gorsuch

February 1, 2017 at 6:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jason Sattler: “This is an appointment by the biggest popular vote loser of the modern era to fill a stolen seat. Pretending this is just Senate business as usual would pat the GOP on the head for pulling off the heist of the century, and it would give Trump a thumbs up for his first-week ‘shock and awe’ campaign of executive orders designed to roll back immigration, the Affordable Care Act and voting fraud.”

“It would also show that the elected left has learned nothing in the last eight years.”

“Barack Obama was the first candidate since Dwight D. Eisenhower to win 51% of the popular vote twice. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s cynical decision to deny Obama the right to fill Antonin Scalia’s seat was mustache-twirlingly brilliant.”

Kevin Drum: “Lots of Democrats want to take a scorched-earth approach toward the confirmation of Gorsuch … I’m totally on board with this. The Republican blockade of Garland was flat-out theft, and no party with any self-respect can let that go without a fight.”

Trump Already Raising Money for Re-Election

February 1, 2017 at 6:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Donald Trump’s reelection efforts are off to a strong start financially, according to Tuesday evening campaign finance reports showing that Trump’s three committees brought in a combined $11 million last month and finished the year with $16 million in the bank,” Politico reports.

State Department Dissent Gets 1,000 Signatures

January 31, 2017 at 9:49 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Within hours, a State Department dissent cable, asserting that President Trump’s executive order to temporarily bar citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries would not make the nation safer, traveled like a chain letter — or a viral video.”

“The cable wended its way through dozens of American embassies around the world, quickly emerging as one of the broadest protests by American officials against their president’s policies. And it is not over yet.”

“By 4 p.m. on Tuesday, the letter had attracted around 1,000 signatures, State Department officials said, far more than any dissent cable in recent years. It was being delivered to management, and department officials said more diplomats wanted to add their names to it.”

Trump Picks Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court

January 31, 2017 at 8:04 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to be a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

New York Times: “If confirmed, Judge Gorsuch would restore the 5-to-4 split between liberals and conservatives on the court, handing Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, 80, who votes with both blocs, the swing vote.”

Politico: “Gorsuch is a favorite of legal conservatives because he has sharply questioned a three-decade old legal precedent that many on the right believe has given too much power to the regulatory state.”