General
Federal officers may be leaving Portland, but federal charges will linger for many Adam Taylor, The Washington Post
More than 70 people have been charged with federal crimes and citations related to the nightly clashes between U.S. agents and Portland protesters, according to the Justice Department. Among them: two local lawyers, a middle-class mother from the suburbs, teenagers accused of lobbing explosive fireworks, a yoga instructor on a road-trip from Denver and a grocery store worker who allegedly wielded a laser pen as a weapon.
Trump’s DC Hotel Jacked Up Its Prices as Trump Began Plotting a DC-Based Convention William Bredderman, The Daily Beast
As President Donald Trump hints that he plans to deliver his nomination speech from the White House on Aug. 27, the hotel bearing his name down the street is making a power play of its own: spiking its room rates by more than 60 percent for those convention dates. Listings for rooms at the Trump International Hotel in D.C., via Hotels.com, show rooms for one adult on the night of the address starting at $795 and running as high as $2,070.
More Farmers Declare Bankruptcy Despite Record Levels of Federal Aid Jesse Newman, The Wall Street Journal
More U.S. farmers are filing for bankruptcy, as federal payments projected to reach record levels this year fall short of compensating for the coronavirus pandemic and a yearslong slump in the agricultural economy. About 580 farmers filed for chapter 12 bankruptcy protection in the 12-month period ended June 30, according to federal data.
What Ebola Taught Susan Rice About the Next Pandemic Blake Hounshell, Politico
In October 2014, national security adviser Susan Rice was steeling herself to resign. Ten months into a vicious outbreak of Ebola, a terrifying virus that caused some victims to bleed from their eyeballs, the United States was struggling to contain its spread across West Africa.
White House & Administration
Pence: Chief Justice Roberts ‘has been a disappointment to conservatives’ Brett Samuels, The Hill
Vice President Pence on Wednesday said Chief Justice John Roberts has been a “disappointment to conservatives,” a rare direct rebuke of the top judge after he ruled against the Trump administration in a series of recent cases. “Look, we have great respect for the institution of the Supreme Court of the United States, but Chief Justice John Roberts has been a disappointment to conservatives,” Pence told Christian Broadcast Network’s David Brody, citing Roberts’s role in upholding the Affordable Care Act and his more recent swing vote rejecting a Nevada church’s request to overturn a state cap on attendance amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Esper says ‘most believe’ Beirut explosion ‘was an accident’ after Trump claimed it was an attack Jennifer Hansler and Michael Conte, CNN
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that “most believe” that the explosion in Beirut “was an accident, as reported,” despite President Donald Trump’s claim a day prior that it was an attack. The US is “still getting information on what happened” in regard to the blast in the Lebanese capital, Esper said.
White House warns 10 local areas about coronavirus numbers in private call Liz Essley Whyte, The Center for Public Integrity
The White House Coronavirus Task Force sees troubling coronavirus numbers in 10 local areas across the country, even as its data shows improvement in Sunbelt states, according to a private call between task force leader Dr. Deborah Birx and state and local officials Wednesday. “We are seeing encouraging signs across the South,” Birx said on a recording of the call obtained by the Center for Public Integrity.
Fauci says nation can survive Covid-19 without another shutdown Dan Diamond, Politico
Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, says the United States is facing a “concerted challenge” to navigate the resurgent Covid-19 outbreak — but if Americans band together, the nation can avert another extended shutdown. “There seems to be a misperception that either you shut down completely and damage a lot of things, mental health, the economy, all kinds of things, or let it rip and do whatever you want,” Fauci told POLITICO’s “Pulse Check” podcast on Wednesday.
Trump administration’s probe of the Russia investigation may be nearing conclusion Ken Dilanian, NBC News
The investigation ordered by Attorney General William Barr into how the CIA and the FBI looked into the Trump campaign’s connections to Russia’s 2016 election interference operation may be nearing a conclusion, people familiar with it say. One indication is that the prosecutor in charge, Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham, has asked to interview former CIA Director John Brennan, according to a person familiar with the request.
State Dept. Traces Russian Disinformation Links Julian E. Barnes, The New York Times
Russia continues to use a network of proxy websites to spread pro-Kremlin disinformation and propaganda in the United States and other parts of the West, according to a State Department report released on Wednesday. The report is one of the most detailed explanations yet from the Trump administration on how Russia disseminates disinformation, but it largely avoids discussing how Moscow is trying to influence the current campaign.
Senate
‘I want to get an outcome’: McConnell defends strategy as he faces GOP grumbling John Bresnahan et al., Politico
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell knows where he needs to take his fellow Republicans on coronavirus relief — but he’s not sure how many will follow him there. Facing a deeply divided Senate GOP conference just three months before an election that could cost Republicans their majority, McConnell is struggling to hold his members together as the White House and Democratic congressional leaders negotiate a new coronavirus relief package.
Yates says Obama, Biden didn’t influence Flynn investigation Kyle Cheney, Politico
Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates told lawmakers Wednesday that neither President Barack Obama nor Vice President Joe Biden attempted to influence the FBI’s investigation of incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn during a January 2017 Oval Office meeting with top national security officials. “During the meeting, the president, the vice president, the national security adviser did not attempt to any way to direct or influence any investigation,” Yates said during sworn testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senate Republicans advance Ukraine probe aimed at Biden despite foreign interference concerns Paul Sonne et al., The Washington Post
One of President Trump’s top supporters in the Senate is pressing ahead with a politically fraught investigation into former vice president Joe Biden and Ukraine, despite warnings from Democrats that he risks laundering Russian disinformation into the United States through the Senate ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, is scrutinizing a Ukrainian gas company’s hiring of Biden’s son onto its board and the activities of a lobbying firm it hired in Washington, reviving a thread of the Trump impeachment proceedings that the president’s allies hope could damage Biden.
Loeffler leans in to Trump’s culture war in battle with WNBA Clyde McGrady, Roll Call
When Georgia business executive Kelly Loeffler was appointed to replace the ailing Sen. Johnny Isakson in December, it was clear that her ownership of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream could become an issue during the 2020 special election to fill out the term. The league, which is 83 percent women of color, is known for its frosty relationship with President Donald Trump, a politician who dominates the political landscape with culturally inflammatory and racist rhetoric.
Rand Paul: Republicans should apologize to Obama for complaining about spending Rashaan Ayesh, Axios
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) tore into his fellow Republicans on Fox News Wednesday for considering a coronavirus relief package that could cost more than $1 trillion, calling on them to apologize to President Obama “for complaining that he was spending and borrowing too much” during his time in office.
House
Emboldened Pelosi takes hard line as relief talks drag on Heather Caygle et al., Politico
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stood up before a room full of Senate Republicans noshing on lunch Tuesday, compelled to make a declaration about Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “There were press reports that Mark is indecisive and I’m owned by Nancy,” Mnuchin said of himself and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, according to two people in the room.
Rep. Rodney Davis diagnosed with Covid days after warning lawmakers about safety Shia Kapos, Politico
Days after delivering a presentation on office safety in dealing with Covid-19, Illinois Congressman Rodney Davis, the top Republican on the House Administration Committee, announced he has tested positive for the virus. In a letter posted on his website, Davis said he tested positive Wednesday morning.
2020
Trump campaign fundraising in July outpaced Biden, reversing trend from previous two months Michelle Ye Hee Lee, The Washington Post
President Trump’s reelection fundraising in July outpaced that of Democratic presumptive nominee Joe Biden, with a staggering $165 million raised between the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee and affiliated committees, according to figures released Wednesday. Biden, the Democratic National Committee and their joint fundraising committees raised $140 million in July, comparable to the amount they raised the month prior, according to figures released by the campaign Wednesday.
Joe Biden will no longer travel to Milwaukee to accept Democratic nomination Jeff Zeleny et al., CNN
Joe Biden will no longer accept the Democratic presidential nomination in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, officials said Wednesday, in the latest and strongest sign that the Democratic National Convention will be almost entirely virtual due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Biden will instead accept the Democratic nomination for president from his home state of Delaware, according to the Democratic National Convention Committee.
Democrats and Republicans push back on Trump’s desire to deliver convention speech from White House Michael Scherer et al., The Washington Post
Local and national leaders pushed back Wednesday against President Trump’s desire to deliver his convention acceptance speech from the White House, warning that the event could bring protests and novel coronavirus spread to the nation’s capital while violating historic norms that separate political activity from the seat of presidential power. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) predicted that a political convention gathering at the White House “won’t happen,” for legal and ethical reasons, while D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said she did not plan to offer “any exemptions” for the event from a recent health order that restricts the movement of nonessential visitors to the city from 27 states with elevated rates of the virus.
Trump campaign seeks early September presidential debate Alayna Treene and Stef W. Kight, Axios
The Trump campaign is asking the Commission on Presidential Debates to move up the last presidential debate to the first week in September to get ahead of an expected surge in early voting. President Trump’s personal attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, made the request in a letter dated Wednesday and obtained by Axios.
Top GOP super PAC launching $21M Senate ad blitz this month James Arkin, Politico
Republicans’ chief Senate super PAC is launching a new $21 million TV and radio ad buy in August across five races as the party continues to fight to protect its majority against massive Democratic spending. Senate Leadership Fund, the outside group with ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, will launch ads starting next week in Montana, Georgia, Iowa and North Carolina, and will also go up in Arizona later this month, according to details shared first with POLITICO.
States
Cuomo takes over as head of national governors’ group Anna Gronewold, Politico
Gov. Andrew Cuomo officially assumed leadership of the National Governors Association on Wednesday during a meeting held virtually because of the pandemic. Alongside some chuckles and technical glitches that characterize the new normal of video gatherings, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland passed the mantle of leadership to Cuomo, who had been vice chair.
Split 5 to 4, Supreme Court Rules for California Jail Over Virus Measures Adam Liptak, The New York Times
By a 5-to-4 vote, the Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with officials at a California jail in a dispute over the adequacy of its response to the coronavirus pandemic. The court’s brief order was unsigned and gave no reasons, which is typical when it acts on emergency applications.
Gov. Kim Reynolds signs executive order restoring felon voting rights, removing Iowa’s last-in-the-nation status Stephen Gruber-Miller and Ian Richardson, Des Moines Register
Thousands of Iowans with felony convictions who have served their sentences will be allowed to vote in November’s presidential election after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an executive order Wednesday restoring their voting rights. Reynolds, a Republican, signed the executive order Wednesday morning in her office at the Iowa Capitol, flanked by a group of local leaders and legislators.
Advocacy
Member of Conservative Think Tank Takes On Reporter Duties on Air Force Two Annie Karni, The New York Times
When Vice President Mike Pence traveled to an event in Florida on Wednesday, he was not accompanied on his plane by a member of the White House press corps, as is typically the case. Instead, seated on Air Force Two in a space normally reserved for a White House reporter was the vice president for communications at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that has helped the Trump administration fill jobs throughout the government and influenced policy decisions.
How Hotel Chains Got a Slice of Government Aid for Small Businesses Isaac Arnsdorf, ProPublica
In March, as lawmakers raced to put together a massive stimulus package to cope with the pandemic-related shutdowns sweeping the country, a New York company that invests in hotels deployed a Washington lobbyist for the first time. The lobbyist’s mission was to secure an exception in the emerging relief program for small businesses so that hotel chains would become eligible.
Former clients of acting Homeland Security chief Chad Wolf received millions in department contracts Brian Schwartz, CNBC
Several former lobbying clients of Chad Wolf, now the acting secretary of Homeland Security, have received millions of dollars’ worth of government contracts while he has held senior positions within the department. Wolf, who became the acting chief of the department late last year, was a lobbyist for over a decade at Wexler & Walker before he took leadership roles with DHS under President Donald Trump.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
Poll-Based Election Forecasts Will Always Struggle With Uncertainty Natalie Jackson, Sabato’s Crystal Ball
Humans generally do not like uncertainty. We like to think we can predict the future.
Trump’s Trillion-Dollar Choice The Editorial Board, The Wall Street Journal
As negotiations for another giant spending bill proceed in Washington, President Trump faces a choice. Does he do another deal giving Speaker Nancy Pelosi most of what she wants, perhaps splitting the GOP in the process? Or does he press his own economic agenda and, if the Speaker blocks it, take that to the voters in November?
Research Reports and Polling
The Senate: Ranking the Top Dozen Best Targets Kyle Kondik, Sabato’s Crystal Ball
In a cycle where the Republicans’ list of defensive responsibilities in the Senate has seemed to get longer and longer, GOP leaders must be extremely happy to be able to effectively cross one off the list. Rep. Roger Marshall (R, KS-1) defeated 2018 gubernatorial nominee and conservative hardliner Kris Kobach (R) Tuesday evening, making it much easier for Republicans to defend the open seat and frustrating national Democrats, who spent real money in Kansas to try to help Kobach win the primary.
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