Top Political News provided by The Washington Post©

• Trump’s erratic policy moves put national security at risk, experts warn
  President’s brinkmanship approach on ICE raids, Mexican tariffs and Iran is also politically risky, they say.
• The Energy 202: Ex-EPA engineer says Wheeler is misleading Congress about car rule
  The EPA disagrees.
• The Health 202: Now Trump says he meant to keep Obamacare. Say what?
  He's rewriting history ahead of 2020 on Republicans' failure to repeal and replace the law.
• Should contraception be sold over the counter? AOC and Ted Cruz aren’t actually allies on this.
  Republicans and Democrats divide -- starkly -- over the details.
• Republicans despise identity politics. Trump wants to immerse his campaign in it.
  President Trump focus headed into 2020 may be on the minority of Americans who support him.
• Trump’s acting DHS secretary appears wary of the president’s ICE raids. That says a lot.
  The acting Homeland Security chief apparently isn't hiding his feelings — perhaps because he's seen what happened when his department had to make the best of President Trump's whims.
• Trump’s newest media-FBI conspiracy theory is so baseless the newspaper behind it retracted it
  Trump promoted a story about a New York Times reporter "flagging" information about Jared Kushner and Russians. It's clear he was merely asking for confirmation.
• O’Rourke releases proposal that aims to improve veterans’ lives
  The former congressman, who is intimately aware of the challenges facing veterans, called for more funding and ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Palestinians won’t show up for Jared Kushner’s Mideast conference. Israel is likely to sit it out, too.
  It appears doubtful that the investment conference can raise significant money or political support for President Trump’s effort to strike a Middle East peace deal.
• The Finance 202: Big banks are breezing through their stress tests. But the results could be deceiving.
  Industry watchdogs say the test has gotten easier.
• The Cybersecurity 202: U.S. businesses are preparing for Iranian hacks after American cyber attack
  Iranian counterstrikes might target financial or energy firms
• Biden accuses Trump of ‘racist invective’ on immigration, says he has undercut progress made under Obama
  An op-ed by the former vice president was published in the Miami Herald ahead of the kickoff of the Democratic debate season.
• Turnout at last weekend’s impeachment marches was modest. Why?
  We found these three likely reasons.
• Of course Trump might reject a 2020 loss. He still rejects the results of a race he won.
  Speaking to NBC's Chuck Todd, Trump again falsely claimed that his popular vote loss in 2016 was suspect.
• Power Up: Trump stepped back from the brink with Iran. Now here come the sanctions and covert ops.
  The president is trying to avoid all-out conflict.
• Here’s why Trump is threatening federal layoffs if Congress won’t shut this agency down
  OPM is the agency everyone loves to hate. So what's the problem?
• On campaign trail, Trump and Biden clash over China as trade war deepens
  The president’s tariff brinkmanship is emerging as a proxy in a contest over who is better prepared to blunt the rising Asian power’s challenge to U.S. global standing.
• Do Mexican drug cartels make $500 billion a year?
  We found a parade of estimates from $5 billion to $39 billion, but none of them comes close to $500 billion.
• Iran crisis looms over Pompeo’s trip to Middle East, Asia
  Increasing fears of a military confrontation with Iran is overshadowing the secretary of state’s attempts to make progress in talks with North Korea.
• Trump’s erratic policy moves put national security at risk, experts warn
  President’s brinkmanship approach on ICE raids, Mexican tariffs and Iran is also politically risky, they say.
• The Trailer: What we learned in South Carolina this weekend
  In this edition: The lessons of a hot South Carolina weekend, the Iran (and ICE) debate that never happened, and the presidential candidate with Pennsylvania roots named "Joe" (not that one).
• Trump brushes off calls to investigate Jamal Khashoggi’s death
  “I think it’s been heavily investigated,” Trump said, when asked whether he’d order the FBI to open an investigation, as recommended by the United Nations. “I’ve seen so many different reports.”
• Pompeo accuses Iran of spreading ‘blatant disinformation’ on downing of drone
  The remarks came as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo headed to the Middle East to build a “global coalition” against Iran after it shot down a U.S. drone it said entered its airspace.
• Kamala Harris, eyeing a prime debate opportunity, still looking for her political niche
  The senator from California is drawing support but struggling to carve out a distinctive brand to contrast rivals Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.

Roll Call©

• When it comes to Facebook, breaking up is hard to do
  Most of the current lawmakers spending big on Facebook advertisements are Democrats running for president. That’s no surprise, given the effectiveness the social media giant gives them in reaching the slice of the electorate they need to raise money and qualify for primary debates. Still, it’s notable that the one using the platform the most is Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat who has called for breaking up the tech giant.
• Trump's 2020 re-election rally signals 2016 strategy may be used again
  Donald Trump repeatedly railed against Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as a friendly Florida crowd cheered and jeered. Only it wasn’t 2016 — it was just six days ago. The president took a crowd of supporters in Orlando on a journey through time last Tuesday as he formally announced his re-election bid. He dropped his now-familiar attack lines that elicited chants of “Lock her up” for Clinton and boos for Obama.
• Power of New York, Texas hinges on immigrant count
  Two states that have the most on the line in the Supreme Court case over the citizenship question in the 2020 census are taking drastically different approaches to the decennial count next year. New York and Texas could have the biggest swings in congressional representation after the 2020 census. New York is projected to lose two seats, and Texas could gain as many as three, according to forecasting by the nonpartisan consulting firm Election Data Services. 
• Congressional compensation: Isn’t there a select committee for that?
  As lawmakers engage in a contentious debate about whether to thaw a decadelong freeze on their pay, there’s a logical place where the underlying issues of member compensation and housing could be addressed — the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress.  But the panel currently has no plans to take up such matters, its chairman, Rep. Derek Kilmer, and vice chairman, Rep. Tom Graves, told CQ Roll Call. 
• ‘More practices for this one game than any NFL preseason’: Reps. Gonzalez and Allred on congressional baseball
  Reps. Anthony Gonzalez and Colin Allred both had careers in the NFL before heading to Congress. Now they’re bringing their big-league talent to opposite sides of the congressional baseball diamond. Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call on your iPhone.
• Road ahead: House and Senate seek to pass dueling border funding bills
  Leaders in the House and Senate want to approve spending at least $4 billion more to address the influx of migrants and their humanitarian needs at the U.S.-Mexico border before the July Fourth recess. Bills in the two chambers differ, however, raising doubts about whether there will be a resolution on President Donald Trump’s desk this month. 
• Capitol Ink | Hard Lines in the Sand
  Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call on your iPhone.
• The Facebook coin: What it means for fintech and society
  Welcome to Fintech Beat, the intersection of finance, technology, policy and regulation. Facebook is poised to enter and potentially reshape the cryptocurrency landscape. Host Chris Brummer, fintech regulation expert, and guests mull over what this means for fintech and society. Intro to fintech
• The financial technology trade wars
     This episode is shipped from Geneva, Switzerland at the World Trade Organization, after host Chris Brummer’s recent trip across the pond. The renowned fintech regulation expert wades into a conversation about where China stands versus the U.S. when it comes to fintech. The answers may surprise you.
• Exploring the wild, wild west of cryptocurrency exchanges
  This episode of Fintech Beat is devoted to the wild west of cryptocurrency exchanges and assets. These new digital marketplaces are creating a world where traders will be able to exchange cryptographically secured bonds, stocks, currencies, and other kinds of securities. Join host Chris Brummer, a renowned fintech regulation expert on this exploration.  
• What's in your crypto wallet? And how to keep it safe
  In this episode, host Chris Brummer tackles wallets and how to keep your cryptocurrency safe from cyber thieves. The renowned financial technology regulation expert takes the listener inside a recent conference — Consensus — where industry heavyweights show off the latest offerings.  
• Trump delays ICE raids hoping for bipartisan plan — but doesn’t say what he’ll support
  President Donald Trump announced Saturday that “at the request of Democrats” a planned roundup of undocumented immigrants will be delayed. In a tweet from Camp David, Trump said he ordered the delay for two weeks “to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the asylum and loophole problems at the southern border.”
• Working with the enemy? Biden was just doing his job
  OPINION — There’s a name for working with someone you can’t stand. It’s called “legislating.” It used to happen all the time in Washington, and it still does, occasionally. But former Vice President Joe Biden became engulfed by progressive rage this week when he pointed to the late Sens. James Eastland and Herman Talmadge, two avowed segregationists, to describe the civility that Biden said he used to see on Capitol Hill.
• A conversation with the CFTC regulator — Christopher Giancarlo
  Fintech Beat’s Chris Brummer sits down with Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Christopher Giancarlo — where they talk about financial technology innovation, breaking down barriers and what keeps him up at night.  
• Financial policy and regulation is changing. We’re going to make sense of it for you.
  In our first episode, we bring you a sneak preview of the Fintech Beat podcast with renowned fintech regulation expert and host, Chris Brummer. We'll bring the listener onto the ground floor of what we plan to bring to market in future episodes.  
• With Iran reversal, did Trump break pledge to never ‘telegraph’ military ops?
  Iran’s military got a glimpse of how President Donald Trump would attack their country despite his years-old pledge never to “telegraph” U.S. military operations to an enemy. “My administration will not telegraph exact military plans to the enemy,” then-candidate Donald Trump said on Aug. 15, 2016 — less than three months before he was elected president.
• King of the road trip: Maine senator treks home after canceled flight
  Angus King stayed up way past your bedtime Thursday night. He wasn’t out partying (though he’ll tell you he had a great time) — he was road tripping from D.C. to Maine. The nearly nine-hour trek was a result of storms in Portland and a canceled flight out of Washington. After sitting on the runway at Reagan National Airport for at least an hour waiting for skies to clear, the plane’s captain came over the intercom to give already annoyed passengers even worse news: They’d have to find another way home.
• Democrats respond with relief to Trump calling off Iran attack
  Democratic response varied Friday to President Donald Trump saying he called off an airstrike against Iran at the last minute, with some renewing their objections to military engagement with Iran without prior congressional approval and others approving of the pull back. Sens. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., have been leading an effort to attach an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would require Congress to vote to authorize the use of force before the administration could take military action against Iran.
• Senators (rich and not-so-rich) fight to keep lawmaker pay freeze
  A bipartisan group of Senators is speaking out against a pay raise for lawmakers. The letter, cosigned by Arizona Democrat Kyrsten Sinema and Republicans Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Braun of Indiana, urges Legislative Branch appropriators to include language in their fiscal 2020 bill to extend the lawmaker pay freeze for another year.
• Workplace protections for legislative branch employees take effect
  Legislative branch employees can now take advantage of a revised dispute resolution process and consult with a confidential adviser about their rights when they make workplace claims. Those are among the protections in the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act. The law also extends workplace protections to unpaid employees, including interns and fellows. Many of the final provisions took effect Wednesday, 180 days after the bill was signed into law in December.
• The Pentagon has a leadership vacuum at the top as tensions with Iran rise
  The departure of acting Defense Department Secretary Patrick Shanahan raises questions about who is advising President Donald Trump, who pulled back a planned military strike on Iran this week, says CQ defense reporter Andrew Clevenger in this episode of the CQ on Congress podcast. And Chris Lu, who served as Barack Obama's liaison to his Cabinet, says Trump's apparent preference for churn among his agency heads gives him more power to direct policy on his own. Show Notes:
• Is Tim Kaine a Swiftie? Senator signs musician���s petition to pass Equality Act
  Tim Kaine is the latest politician to hop on board the Taylor train which, I might add, is moving quite swiftly. The Democratic senator joined his colleagues (and presidential candidates) Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker in signing Taylor Swift’s Change.org petition, which urges the U.S. Senate to pass the Equality Act. The bill, passed in the House last month, would bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
• Photos of the Week: Biden in DC, Trudeau at the Capitol and victory for the Bad News Babes
  This week, Hope Hicks testified behind closed doors, the Canadian prime minister visited the Capitol Building to collect on his bet with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Bad News Babes won the annual Congressional Softball Game. All that and more below. Here’s the entire week in photos:
• Schumer’s mystery tie, Romney’s many houses and Pelosi’s bet with Trudeau: Congressional Hits and Misses
  Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer had reporters decipher his breakfast-themed tie before taking questions at a news briefing. Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Cotton complained about &pizza, Sen. John Thune showed off his absurd pushup skills and Speaker Nancy Pelosi settled a bet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  
• Employers would get subsidies for hiring longtime unemployed workers in draft bill
  A pair of Democratic senators introduced legislation Thursday that would offer subsidies to employers who hire longtime unemployed workers. The draft bill, sponsored by Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and backed by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, aims to assist an estimated 1.3 million people who have been out of work for at least six months. The government would offer one-year subsidies to cover two-thirds of the cost of a new hire’s wages and benefits, although the subsidy could be increased in times of high unemployment.
• Odd bedfellows share concerns over Pelosi drug plan
  Progressive Democrats are amplifying their criticism of an evolving leadership-driven plan to bring government negotiation to Medicare’s prescription drug benefit, raising issues that echo conservative opposition. The liberal wing says a plan being developed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California doesn’t goes far enough in ensuring that the government would be able to negotiate lower prices than the private insurance plans that currently operate Medicare’s prescription drug benefit, Part D.
• Trump says he aborted strike against Iran because it wouldn’t have been ‘proportionate’
  President Donald Trump on Friday defended his decision to abort strikes on three Iranian targets involved in shooting down a U.S. military drone, saying U.S. forces were “cocked & loaded,” but the expected 150 deaths would not have been a “proportionate” response. The New York Times first reported that Trump ordered strikes on Iranian targets but then canceled the mission with U.S. aircraft en route to take out Iranian missile and radar sites.
• Meet Beto O’Rourke’s director of women’s messaging
  Anna Pacilio, a native Californian, is starting her second career with a Texas politician. Her latest role? Director of women’s messaging for presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke. Early last year Pacilio walked into Rep. Marc Veasey’s office in D.C. with no connection to the Lone Star State. She researched his district, gave herself a “crash course” in Texas politics, and landed the job of communications director.
• Live in the ‘here and now,’ even in traffic court, says Rep. Ben Cline
  If you want to get your foot in the door on the Hill, go to your alumni network. That’s one of Ben Cline’s biggest takeaways from his early days as a staffer. Cline, now a congressman himself, started out as a legislative correspondent for Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte. He met the Virginia Republican by volunteering at their mutual alma mater, Bates College.
• Meet some of the former pros who’ve played in the Congressional Baseball Game
  Reps. Colin Allred and Anthony Gonzalez won’t be the first former professional athletes to compete in the Congressional Baseball Game. Over the decades, Republicans and Democrats have looked to other ex-pros turned congressmen and their athletic talents in hopes of scoring on the diamond. The late Sen. Jim Bunning is the only baseball Hall of Famer to come to Washington. Over a 17-season pitching career from 1955 to 1971, the Kentucky Republican won 224 games and had an earned run average of 3.27. Bunning won election to the House in 1986 and made his Congressional Baseball Game debut the following year. He was part of the winning GOP team at least three times as either pitcher or pitching coach. After two terms in the Senate, Bunning opted against re-election in 2010. He died in 2017 at age 85.
• For Colin Allred, Major League dreams are close to coming true
  As a kid, Rep. Colin Allred dreamed of playing baseball on a Major League field. The Texas Democrat will get that chance Wednesday night at the Congressional Baseball Game, and he could add significant heft to an already loaded Democratic squad. It hasn’t been a typical path for Allred — college football, the National Football League, law school, a job in the Obama’s administration, and getting elected to Congress to represent the Dallas-area 32nd District.
• Republicans look to avenge last year’s baseball rout
  Republicans hope that roster additions and A-list advisers can help their team avenge last year’s blowout loss in the Congressional Baseball Game. “Any outcome is going to be better than last year,” says Zack Barth, a staffer for Texas Rep. Roger Williams, who’s been involved with team practices. That’s when Republicans got routed 21-5 behind a complete-game pitching effort from Louisiana Democratic Rep. Cedric L. Richmond. Former New York Rep. Joseph Crowley called it “more of a football game.”
• Jessica Cisneros wants to put her old boss out of office
  Five years ago, Jessica Cisneros was a 20-year-old intern in Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar’s Washington office. Now, two bachelor’s degrees and a law degree later, she’s running against him in the 2020 Democratic primary for Texas’ 28th District with backing from the group that helped New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sweep out longtime Democratic leader Joseph Crowley in a primary last year.
• From front-runner to also-ran: Looking back on the Dean ‘scream’
  It was the second time Tricia Enright had seen a campaign fly high and crash hard.  Presidential contender and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean had just finished a disappointing third in the 2004 Iowa caucuses when a pep talk urging supporters to keep up the fight ended with an otherworldly yell.
• Pay debate raging on Capitol Hill ignores lowest-earning staffers
  While Congress tussles over whether a legislative spending bill should allow a salary boost for lawmakers, their staffers agree that the Members’ Representational Allowance — which pays House staff salaries — needs more funding. House Democrats this month pulled the Legislative Branch appropriations bill amid backlash from Republican campaign strategists and members of their own caucus.
• Trudeau warns about reopening trade talks, but is ‘optimistic’
  After a visit to the White House and Capitol Hill on Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he is optimistic about the prospects of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, but added he hoped obstacles in the U.S. don’t lead to reopening negotiations. Trudeau, speaking at a news conference at the Canadian embassy, lauded the “very strong and positive relationship with the United States” that he said came out of USMCA negotiations that were “contentious at times.” 
• Schumer pushes for vote to make clear Trump needs congressional approval for Iran War
  Returning to Capitol Hill after a meeting at the White House about the shooting down of an American drone, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer increased the pressure for a floor vote to make clear that authorization would be needed for military action against Iran. The New York Democrat highlighted an amendment that has been filed to the fiscal 2020 defense policy bill led by Sens. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Tim Kaine, D-Va. The Senate is expected to proceed to the Pentagon legislation Monday evening.
• Hearing on Congressional Research Service zeroes in on diversity issue
  A rare public hearing on Thursday examining the Congressional Research Service revealed concerns about its lack of diversity in its leadership ranks, as members questioned its leader about hiring practices. At Thursday’s House Administration Committee, Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., asked CRS Director Mary B. Mazanec about the staff closest to her, specifically if any were a person of color, which he defined as “African American, Latino, Asian American, Pacific Islander.” Mazanec said she had “about 12 direct reports,” and only one of them was a person of color.
• Ghirardelli chocolate and Napa Valley wine: Pelosi pays off Warriors-Raptors bet to Trudeau
  If there wasn’t enough salt in Nancy Pelosi’s wounds after the Toronto Raptors defeated her Golden State Warriors for this year’s NBA championship, she can just steal some from the pistachios she gifted Justin Trudeau. Oh wait, never mind — those are salt-free. The Speaker held up her end of a “friendly” wager with the Canadian prime minister Thursday when she gave him the basket of all baskets, chock-full of some of California’s finest:
• Bad news Congress, Bad News Babes continue win streak
  For the fourth year in a row, the babes of the press corps defeated Congress at the 11th annual Congressional Women's Softball Game. The charity event raised a record $365,000 to benefit the Young Survival Coalition, an organization that provides aid for young women diagnosed with breast cancer.
• Roy Moore running again for Senate in Alabama
  Roy Moore, who lost a 2017 special election following allegations of sexual misconduct, announced Thursday that he is once again making a run for the Senate.  Moore joins a number of Republicans already vying for their party’s nomination to take on Alabama Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, who narrowly defeated Moore in 2017.
• Education Department investigating Duke-UNC event for ‘anti-semitic rhetoric’
  The Department of Education plans to investigate a Middle East studies event hosted by Duke University and the University of North Carolina in which a Palestinian guest performer appeared to lead the attendants in anti-semitic rhetoric. The Duke-UNC consortium on Middle East studies used $5,000 of federal grant money from DOE for the event, the News and Observer in Raleigh reported at the time.
• White House threatens to veto resolutions blocking Saudi arms sales
  The White House said Thursday it would veto Senate-passed measures to block its proposed arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries. “The transfer of these capabilities and services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan directly supports the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of friendly countries that continue to be important forces for political and economic stability in the Middle East,” according to a statement of administration policy memo.
• These 103 House Democrats have a message for the presidential candidates
  More than 100 House Democrats, including many of the freshmen who won in moderate districts, want to talk to the Democratic presidential candidates.  The New Democrat Coalition, the largest ideological group in the House Democratic caucus, is sending a letter to all the Democratic presidential candidates on Thursday requesting individual meetings with them. 
• Trump calls Iran move ‘loose and stupid,’ suggests retaliation possible
  Updated 1:11 p.m. | President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested Iran’s shootdown of an American military drone was just a mistake likely carried out by someone who is both “loose and stupid.” But he also warned Tehran he might retaliate as tensions continue to escalate. Asked if he intends to respond, Trump for the second time within the hour told reporters, “You’ll find out.”
• Leaders on collision course on member pay raise issue
  Congressional leaders seem to be on a collision course over the issue of raising members’ pay, as the two majority leaders in the House and Senate are heading in opposite directions on the politically fraught issue. House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer told CQ Roll Call Thursday that he expects to bring the Legislative Branch appropriations bill to the floor next week unchanged, meaning without language to block a cost-of-living adjustment to member salaries.
• Trump energy plan faces legal blitz over weaker emissions standards
  Blue states and green groups are gearing up to sue the Trump administration over its new carbon emissions rule finalized Wednesday, which critics say fails to address climate change and the public health risks associated with pollution from the power sector. The EPA’s Affordable Clean Energy rule rescinds the Obama administration’s ambitious Clean Power Plan and replaces it with less stringent guidelines for states and coal-fired power plants to reduce their emissions.
• Dems push craft beer tax break renewal, and more in bill headed for markup
  The House Ways and Means Committee announced its long-awaited markup of tax legislation with more than 50 provisions, including expansions of tax credits for lower-income workers and families with children and renewals of expired tax breaks for disparate interests ranging from biodiesel blenders to craft beer producers. Legislation that would beef up the refundable portions of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit for 2018 and 2019 also includes a repeal of the so-called ″church parking tax,″ that left some nonprofits paying taxes on transportation-related fringe benefits for their employees as part of a change made by the 2017 tax overhaul. Those and other changes in the bill would cost a total of $102.5 billion over a decade, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, with no offsetting revenue increases or spending cuts.
• 3 things to watch: Before any Iran conflict, Trump faces war within his own team
  ANALYSIS | Donald Trump is facing one of the biggest tests of his presidency after Iran shot down a U.S. military aircraft, prompting him to declare the islamic republic “made a very big mistake.” His tweet at 10:16 a.m. Thursday broke the nearly 15 hours of essential White House silence on the missile takedown of the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone aircraft. But the U.S. commander in chief did not suggest he is ready to respond — even after a top Iranian official admitted the shootdown was meant as a “clear message” to Washington.
• Klobuchar, others prod Uber, Lyft on recall safety
  Sen. Amy Klobuchar is prodding the leadership of Uber and Lyft about the safety of their drivers using recalled vehicles. Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat and 2020 White House hopeful, is leading a letter to the ride-sharing companies and is being joined by three senior Democratic members of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

McClatchy©

• How cut-rate SoBe hostel launched Jerry Falwell Jr. ‘pool boy’ saga, naked picture hunt
  The sun was setting at the Cheeca Lodge resort in Islamorada when Jerry Falwell Jr. smiled for the camera, a national evangelical leader nearing 50 posing next to a young … Click to Continue »
• First Democratic debates to mark the start of a more confrontational 2020 race
  The Democratic presidential candidates have mostly avoided directly criticizing one another in the early stages of the 2020 primary, preferring to stick to their own positive messages. It’s a non-confrontational … Click to Continue »
• Can Pompeo get India to roll back almond tariffs? California Democrat hopes so
  Retaliatory tariffs announced by India would be disastrous to California farmers in the Central Valley, and representatives of the area are hoping that a meeting between India’s prime minister and … Click to Continue »
• Trump states and rural areas grab bigger chunk of transportation grant funds
  Twenty-five of the 30 states President Donald Trump won in 2016 have received bigger shares of funding from a federal transportation program that has shifted to favoring rural projects over … Click to Continue »
• Amid questions about Chao-McConnell influence, Kentucky road projects flourish under Trump
  Kentucky, particularly the largely rural counties that Donald Trump won in 2016, is getting lots of help from an administration transportation grant program that has favored rural projects over urban, … Click to Continue »
• ‘You’ll find out’ Trump says about US planning action against Iran
  Minutes after a senior U.S. military officer said Iran shot down a U.S. drone over international waters, President Donald Trump stated on June 20, 2019 that "Iran made a very big mistake" but suggested it was an accident rather than an error. … Click to Continue »
• Gabbard tells Trump return to Iran nuclear deal, ‘before it’s too late’
  Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard released a video in which she urges President Donald Trump to return to the Iran nuclear deal. Gabbard said that the president should “do the right thing”, and called his Iran strategy “ill-advised and short-sighted." … Click to Continue »
• GOP group launches ad blitz attacking single-payer health care ahead of first Democratic debates
  A GOP-aligned group is launching a massive ad campaign targeting single-payer health care, a national effort designed to undercut the proposed program’s popularity as it gains some support within the … Click to Continue »
• Citizenship for military service? California Democrat renews bill to let Dreamers enlist
  Rep. Josh Harder knows there’s little chance that a big immigration bill will pass in Congress this year. But so-called Dreamers — people who came to the country illegally as … Click to Continue »
• Walter Jones’ widow makes her preference clear in Republican runoff to fill his seat
  Updated June 20, 2019 with Joe Anne Jones’ comments. The widow of former U.S. Rep. Walter Jones called one of the candidates running to replace him “a dear friend” and … Click to Continue »
• UN Ambassador nominee Kelly Craft splits from Trump on climate change
  Trump’s UN Ambassador nominee Kelly Craft said that she believes human behavior contributed to climate change. This point of view breaks from Trump’s stance on the matter. … Click to Continue »
• Kelly Craft breaks with Trump, says ‘human behavior’ plays a climate change role
  Kelly Craft, President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, pledged Wednesday to be an “advocate for all countries to do their part in addressing climate change” … Click to Continue »
• Biden said he found common ground with segregationists. SC’s Clyburn said he did, too
  Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking black member of Congress, defended Joe Biden on Wednesday after the Democratic presidential candidate cited his working relationships with segregationist senators as an example of his … Click to Continue »
• Trump’s poverty rule could cut benefits to 15,000 California households over time, report says
  The Trump administration’s proposal to change how the federal government determines what constitutes poverty would make 15,000 fewer households in California eligible for benefits within 15 years, according to a … Click to Continue »
• Why Elizabeth Warren doesn’t scare many moderate Democrats
  Many moderate Democratic leaders have reached a surprising conclusion about Elizabeth Warren: They’d actually feel comfortable if she won the party’s presidential nomination. She might be an unabashed liberal, they … Click to Continue »
• Donald Trump announces 2020 presidential campaign
  President Donald Trump announced his re-election campaign on June 18, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. … Click to Continue »
• Dem-affiliated group wants to know if McConnell’s state got a sweetheart deal
  A Democratic-affiliated group is asking the Department of Transportation’s inspector general to open an inquiry into whether Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao gave preferential treatment and steered millions of federal transportation … Click to Continue »
• Critics of census citizenship question hold ‘conspiracy theories,’ House Republicans say
  House Republicans are pushing back on what they’re calling Democrats’ “baseless conspiracy theories” about the origins of President Donald Trump’s efforts to include a citizenship question in the 2020 census. … Click to Continue »
• His heart stopped and he crashed his car. Now this Democrat is running for US Senate.
  Eric Mansfield survived his heart stopping and the resulting car accident in 2018. One year later, the former state senator is running for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina, joining … Click to Continue »
• Bakari Sellers accuses SC’s top Democrat of breaking pledge to stay out of 2020
  U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn has promised not to make an endorsement in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary, but one fellow South Carolinian thinks the state party kingmaker already has. … Click to Continue »
• Mick Mulvaney’s latest professional road bump: A presidential chiding for coughing
  One-time South Carolina state legislator and U.S. congressman Mick Mulvaney has faced a few setbacks since joining the Trump administration. As White House budget chief in 2017, he couldn’t help … Click to Continue »
• 22 candidates. 4,400 pounds of fish. Clyburn preps for epic ‘World Famous’ fish fry
  On a normal workday, Jim Clyburn is figuring out how he’ll get 235 congressional Democrats to advance his party’s agenda. This week, the South Carolina congressman needs to know how … Click to Continue »
• Kansas, Missouri teamed up to lure USDA jobs to KC. Now, the competition begins
  Kansas and Missouri leaders have enticed the federal government into shipping hundreds of high-paying jobs from Washington to Kansas City through an unusual level of cooperation between the two states. … Click to Continue »
• Cruz, AOC want a birth control bill. But they’re having trouble with the details
  Sen. Ted Cruz, a conservative movement star, wants to team up with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the rising star among Democratic ’ progressives. It won’t be easy. Cruz, a Texas Republican, … Click to Continue »
• Trump officials, including Ivanka, to visit Charlotte for workforce development event
  Two high-level Trump administration officials are coming to Charlotte next week. Ivanka Trump, adviser to her father President Donald Trump, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will be in town Tuesday, … Click to Continue »
• California is up in the air for 2020 Democrats – and so is this politician’s endorsement
  There aren’t too many California politicians left on the sidelines in the 2020 primary fight. Virtually all of California’s statewide officials threw their support behind home state Sen. Kamala Harris’ … Click to Continue »
• SC native Charlamagne is changing the 2020 conversation one candidate at a time
  It’s April 2016, and then-Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton says on the radio that she always carries hot sauce with her. Instantly, the moment goes viral. It becomes fuel for … Click to Continue »
• Sarah Huckabee Sanders leaving White House
  President Trump announced that White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will leave her position at the end of June 2019. … Click to Continue »
• As 2020 Dems converge in SC, a key fundraiser takes the stage
  South Carolina Democrats have griped for years that the national party pays little to no attention to the state, writing off its electoral map as destined to favor Republicans. In … Click to Continue »
• SC’s Clyburn and Warren team up to tackle thousands in student debt. Here’s how.
  Presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren has teamed up with South Carolina’s U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn to take on the ever-growing mountain of student debt. The pair announced Thursday they will … Click to Continue »

Politico©

• Should authenticity matter in politics?
• Pelosi: 'Open discussion' on whether Trump could be indicted in office
• DNC chair praises George H.W. Bush: He 'put country over party every day'
• How will Trump take Amazon move? 'He will think Bezos made this decision to stick it to him.'
• Kasich: ‘A pox on both houses’ for Kavanaugh confirmation process
• Avenatti stars in ‘avenging angel’ role
  For the third time this year, the attorney and 2020 presidential prospect has rolled a grenade into the Trump White House.
• The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics
  Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here’s an offering of the best of this week’s crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.
• Behind the scenes as the Kavanaugh nomination hit the rocks
• Former Trump aides break their silence on Woodward book
  Rob Porter, Gary Cohn and Chris Christie are accusing the veteran journalist of creating a misleading portrait of the West Wing.
• New sexual misconduct allegations emerge against CBS boss