Top Stories

  • The U.S. Postal Service is experiencing a delivery backlog after Louis DeJoy, the Republican fundraiser recently appointed by President Donald Trump to be postmaster general, implemented new procedures to cut costs. Postal employees and union officials reportedly fear the policies are meant to undermine absentee voting and stoke unsubstantiated concerns about fraud as more voters participate this year by mail. (The Washington Post)
  • Trump’s suggestion that the Nov. 3 election be delayed was roundly rejected by Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Only Congress has the authority to make the change, something it hasn’t exercised before, and Trump did not repeat the idea at a news conference, focusing instead on his concerns with mail-in voting and a delay in election night results. (Reuters)
  • Trump indicated to associates that he would not make an endorsement ahead of Tuesday’s Republican Senate primary in Kansas, according to three sources, dismaying Republican leaders who fear a victory by former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach could clear a path for a Democratic victory in the state for the first time since 1932. On a flight to Texas this week, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz reportedly urged Trump against backing the party’s favored candidate, Rep. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), reminding him that Marshall had initially backed then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the 2016 presidential race. (CNN)
  • Talks between the Trump administration and congressional Democratic leaders on a new coronavirus relief package yielded no progress as an expanded benefit for unemployment insurance recipients was set to expire tonight. Democratic leaders said they rejected a short-term proposal offered by the Trump administration, as Senate leaders teed up a legislative vehicle to make it possible to pass a bill when the Senate returns next week. (Roll Call)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

07/31/2020
Anthony Fauci testifies to House coronavirus committee 9:00 am
House Homeland Security committee holds hearing on DHS policing actions 10:00 am
Washington Post event with ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie 11:00 am
08/04/2020
Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, Washington primary elections
View full calendar

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General

At Lewis Funeral, Obama Calls Filibuster a ‘Jim Crow Relic’
Maggie Astor and Shane Goldmacher, The New York Times

Former President Barack Obama called for sweeping changes to voting laws on Thursday, including making Election Day a national holiday and implementing automatic voter registration, and he embraced eliminating the filibuster if necessary to enact those changes, calling the legislative tool a “Jim Crow relic.” In a 40-minute speech eulogizing Representative John Lewis, Mr. Obama drew parallels between the police violence that Mr. Lewis endured as a civil-rights leader in the 1960s and the recent wave of racial-justice protests and police clashes that have spread across the nation.

Supreme Court Secrecy Breach Sheds Light on Internal Dynamics
Greg Stohr, Bloomberg

The U.S. Supreme Court this week witnessed an extraordinary breach of its rules of confidentiality, as a series of CNN stories exposed some of the justices’ internal deliberations during their just-completed term. The series, written by veteran Supreme Court reporter Joan Biskupic and based on unidentified sources, shed light on the maneuvering among the justices in major cases over abortion, subpoenas for President Donald Trump’s financial records and job discrimination against LGBT workers.

Supreme Court again splits on coronavirus-related election issue
Robert Barnes, The Washington Post

The Supreme Court on Thursday shut down a lower court’s decision that cited the coronavirus pandemic as reason to ease the rules on gathering signatures for a citizens ballot initiative. The case from Idaho was the latest example of the high court deferring to state officials, rather than lower court judges, in how to deal with election-related issues caused by the outbreak of covid-19.

Appeals court revives Michael Flynn case for another round of arguments about DOJ versus judge’s power
Katelyn Polantz and David Shortell, CNN

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC, agreed to rehear arguments about the judicial branch’s ability to question the Justice Department’s decision to drop the prosecution of Michael Flynn, keeping the the controversial case against the former national security adviser alive. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday said it would throw out a previous ruling to dismiss Flynn’s criminal charge and hear more arguments about a lower court judge’s attempt to probe the Justice Department’s move to dismiss the case in May.

US government drops effort to silence Trump’s ex-lawyer
Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press

The U.S. government dropped its effort to silence President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer on Thursday, saying it will no longer demand that Michael Cohen not speak with the media in the weeks before his book critical of his former boss is released. An agreement between lawyers for the government and Cohen attorney Danya Perry lifting the media ban that had prevented Cohen from speaking publicly awaited a signature by a federal judge.

The congressional underclass erupts in fury after Gohmert gets Covid-19
Anna Palmer, Politico

The revelation Wednesday that Texas Republican Louie Gohmert, a renegade lawmaker known for stalking the halls of Congress without a mask, tested positive for Covid-19 has unleashed a fusillade of anger on Capitol Hill — a sudden release of built-up tension over how the institution has dealt with the coronavirus pandemic within the confines of its own workplace. For months, the leaders of Congress have allowed lawmakers to enter the Capitol without being screened for the deadly virus, rejecting an offer from the White House to provide rapid testing while trusting that the thousands who work across the massive complex of offices, meeting rooms and hallways will behave responsibly.

‘George Floyd All Over Again’: ICE Guard Drove Knee Into Detainee
Spencer Ackerman, The Daily Beast

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement guard at an immigration jail in Virginia knelt dangerously on the upper back of a man already bleeding from his head, two detained men who said they saw the disturbing incident told The Daily Beast. “It was like seeing George Floyd all over again,” said one detainee, whom The Daily Beast will call Glenn.

Former presidential candidate Herman Cain has died
Rodney Ho et al., The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Herman Cain, with his rich baritone voice and natural showman’s instinct, reinvented himself multiple times over his lifetime: computer analyst, millionaire business executive, political lobbyist, broadcaster, motivational speaker, author and presidential candidate, among others. The Henry County resident was as successful and opinionated as he was unforgettable, but COVID-19 has silenced him, Cain’s current and former employees confirmed on Thursday. He was 74.

One Marine dead, 8 missing after training ‘mishap’ off California coast
Patrick Smith, NBC News

One U.S. Marine has died, another is in critical condition and a rescue operation is underway for eight more after a training exercise “mishap” with an amphibious assault vehicle off the coast of Southern California on Thursday. The deceased Marine, whose name is being withheld for 24 hours so that the family can be informed, was pronounced dead at a hospital in San Diego on Thursday, according to a press release early Friday by the I Marine Expeditionary Force.

Citing Coronavirus, Hong Kong Postpones Legislative Elections for a Year
Natasha Khan, The Wall Street Journal

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she would postpone coming legislative elections for a year, citing a recent upsurge in coronavirus cases, in a move likely to fuel international furor over the city’s fast-diminishing political freedoms. The city’s top local official told reporters that after 10 straight days of recording more than 100 infections, Hong Kong faced a dire health situation.

White House & Administration

DHS compiled ‘intelligence reports’ on journalists who published leaked documents
Shane Harris, The Washington Post

The Department of Homeland Security has compiled “intelligence reports” about the work of American journalists covering protests in Portland, Ore., in what current and former officials called an alarming use of a government system meant to share information about suspected terrorists and violent actors. Over the past week, the department’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis has disseminated three Open Source Intelligence Reports to federal law enforcement agencies and others, summarizing tweets written by two journalists — a reporter for the New York Times and the editor in chief of the blog Lawfare — and noting they had published leaked, unclassified documents about DHS operations in Portland.

Trump urges people who have recovered from covid-19 to donate blood plasma
Carolyn Y. Johnson, The Washington Post

President Trump issued a national call to action Thursday, exhorting people who have recovered from covid-19 to donate blood plasma to help others fight the disease and boost the nation’s supply. “If you’ve had the virus, if you donate, it would be a terrific thing,” Trump said on a visit to the American Red Cross headquarters.

Trump plans to address United Nations General Assembly in person
Ryan Heath, Politico

President Donald Trump is likely to be the only world leader speaking live from New York at this year’s United Nations General Assembly debate, scheduled to take place Sept. 22 to 25. Kelly Craft, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., told a virtual event Thursday morning that Trump would be “the only world leader to be speaking in person,” noting that “this is the 75th anniversary (of the U.N.), so it makes it even more special.”

Memo reveals State Department dispute over Susan Pompeo’s travel
Nahal Toosi, Politico

As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepared to tour the Middle East last year, senior State Department officials debated whether they could legally justify his wife Susan’s desire to travel with him. Susan Pompeo had been invited to events in two capitals, Cairo and Abu Dhabi, by foreign officials.

Fearing Trump interference, FBI agents hid copies of Russia investigation docs
Jeffrey Toobin, CNN

In the hours after President Donald Trump suddenly fired FBI Director James Comey, on May 9, 2017, his former subordinates in the J. Edgar Hoover Building wondered if there would be more shoes to drop.

Bill Barr Has Done This Before
Mick Dumke, ProPublica

As violent crime continued to climb in Chicago and other cities across the country, Attorney General William P. Barr announced that the U.S. Department of Justice was mobilizing to help: Dozens of federal agents would be sent to work with local police to combat gangs and illegal guns. “Our message to gangs, gang leaders and gang members is this: When we throw the federal book at you, it will be a knockout blow,” Barr said.

Senate

Senate cancels confirmation hearing for Pentagon nominee Tata as GOP senator says he’ll vote no
Allan Smith and Courtney Kube, NBC News

The confirmation hearing for Anthony Tata, a controversial nominee for a top Pentagon job, was canceled Thursday shortly before it was scheduled to start as it became clear he might not have the votes to make it through the committee. In a statement, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said, “There are many Democrats and Republicans who didn’t know enough about Anthony Tata to consider him for a very significant position at this time.”

Trump’s speakerphone conversation with a senator in a Washington restaurant is caught on tape.
Maggie Haberman, The New York Times

President Donald Trump called Senator James Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma, on Wednesday night for a conversation that Mr. Inhofe put on speakerphone to hear better as he sat in a Washington restaurant. The conversation, overheard and recorded by someone in the room, ranged from a discussion about Anthony Tata, the retired Army brigadier general whose nomination for a top Pentagon policy position has become complicated, to Mr. Trump’s desire to preserve the name of Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general, on a military base.

Pompeo clashes with lawmakers over troop withdrawal in Germany and watchdog firing
John Hudson, The Washington Post

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo clashed bitterly with Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday in his first visit to the panel in more than a year. Lawmakers grilled the nation’s top diplomat about an array of issues, including the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw 12,000 troops from Germany and Pompeo’s firing of the department’s internal watchdog, who had been investigating alleged wrongdoing by him and his wife.

The Stealthy Play to Make Swing State Republicans Love Tom Cotton
Lachlan Markay, The Daily Beast

An advocacy group with ties to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) has started buying a host of digital ads going after Democrats on one of Cotton’s signature issues: U.S. policy toward China.  And while Cotton is up for re-election this year, none of the ads are running in Arkansas.

House

Intel Dems press Nunes for details on anti-Biden package from Ukrainian official
Kyle Cheney, Politico

Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, this week declined to answer a colleague’s question about whether he had received derogatory information about Vice President Joe Biden from Andrii Derkach, a Kremlin-linked Ukrainian lawmaker who has worked to foment allegations of corruption by Biden and his son Hunter. During a closed-door business meeting of the panel on Wednesday — a transcript of which was made publicly available Thursday — Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) pressed Nunes about news reports indicating that he was one of several GOP lawmakers to whom packets of information were delivered from Derkach in December 2019 that contained allegations about Joe Biden.

In deal, Rep. David Schweikert admits 11 ethics violations, to pay $50,000 fine
Ronald J. Hansen, Arizona Republic

Rep. David Schweikert reached a deal announced Thursday to end a longstanding House Ethics Committee investigation by admitting to 11 rules violations, accepting a reprimand and agreeing to pay a $50,000 fine. The committee found “substantial evidence” of violations by the five-term Arizona Republican stretching from 2010 into 2018 and faulted him for evasive, stalling tactics that helped him skirt more serious violations.

Fauci to tell House panel ‘unclear’ how long pandemic lasts
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Matthew Perrone, The Associated Press

There’s no end in sight to the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci and other top government health experts will tell Congress on Friday. “While it remains unclear how long the pandemic will last, COVID-19 activity will likely continue for some time,” Fauci, along with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention head Dr. Robert Redfield and Health and Human Services testing czar Adm. Brett Giroir say in prepared testimony for a special House panel investigating the pandemic.

House Democrats find administration overspent for ventilators by as much as $500 million
Heidi Przybyla, NBC News

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted his administration’s supply of ventilators, a critical tool for treating patients with life-threatening respiratory symptoms. But internal emails and documents obtained by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee suggest that the Trump administration failed to enforce an existing contract with a major medical manufacturer, delayed negotiations for more than a month and subsequently overpaid as much as $500 million for tens of thousands of the devices — a costly error at a time when officials from some of the biggest states were warning of shortages.

2020

Trump campaign temporarily halts ad spending for review of messaging strategy
Ryan Nobles, CNN

President Donald Trump’s campaign has canceled a series of advertisement buys over the next few days as they review their messaging strategy, a senior campaign official told CNN. The decision comes after the campaign demoted former campaign manager Brad Parscale and elevated current campaign manager Bill Stepien.

Biden, Bernie forces clash during convention meeting
Holly Otterbein, Politico

A Democratic Party meeting that leaders hoped would project unity weeks ahead of the national convention instead broke out into a behind-the-scenes feud over corporate money in politics. At a virtual gathering of a key committee for the Democratic National Convention, Bernie Sanders-allied members said Joe Biden appointees called them “children” and made other rude comments in a breakout room where they were talking privately.

Here’s How Diverse The Staffs Of Major Democratic Campaign Groups Are
Kevin Robillard, HuffPost

All four major Democratic campaign committees have staffs that are at least 30% people of color, according to staff diversity data provided to HuffPost, though there is a wide variance among the committees. HuffPost asked for staff diversity data from both the Democratic and Republican national committees, along with the Senate, House and gubernatorial campaign committees for both parties.

States

State Democrats mount big comeback in 2020
Elena Schneider et al., Politico

Once ignored, underfunded and often written off, Democratic state party organizations are harvesting record-setting cash heading into the 2020 election, reasserting their roles inside the Democratic infrastructure after suffering for years in competition with super PACs and campaigns. Across 15 possible battleground states, nearly every Democratic state party group is hitting higher quarterly fundraising totals or holding more cash on hand in their federal accounts than they did at this point during the 2016 presidential campaign, and a majority of them did both, according to a POLITICO analysis of Federal Election Commission filings and in interviews with party officials.

Ohio House votes to remove Larry Householder as Ohio Speaker following corruption arrest
Andrew J. Tobias, Cleveland Plain Dealer

The Ohio House of Representatives has voted unanimously to remove Larry Householder as Ohio House speaker a little more than one week following his arrest on federal corruption allegations. Members approved the measure swiftly without debate in a Thursday morning session.

An Anti-Mask Lawmaker Took A Statement About Transphobia And Replaced “LGBTQ” With “Unmasked”
Julia Reinstein, BuzzFeed News

A member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives put out a statement on Wednesday that criticized “hateful comments toward [the] unmasked community,” but which also subtly mocked a transgender state health official. Republican Rep. Russ Diamond, who is vehemently opposed to wearing masks to protect against the coronavirus despite overwhelming medical advice to the contrary, said in his statement that he feels he “must personally respond to the multiple incidents of harassment and specifically hate and intolerance directed at me.”

Advocacy

Groups unite to urge US to extend food aid to schoolchildren
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press

A high-profile coalition of educators, activists and philanthropists — including the American Federation of Teachers, the NAACP and the charity World Central Kitchen — is urging Congress to extend and expand emergency provisions that allow school districts nationwide to feed millions of children during the coronavirus pandemic. “We are urging you to rapidly pass legislation to address the nation’s hunger crisis,” the group writes in a letter.

Mini-exodus of Trump officials from Commerce to lobby on semiconductors
Alex Gangitano, The Hill

Three top Commerce Department officials have left the Trump administration in the past month to take on lobbying roles at the D.C. offices of major semiconductor companies. The moves come at a time when U.S. companies and Congress are increasing efforts to counter China’s expanding strength in the global market for chips.

Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives

A Trump trap? He’s the one who could get a boost from mail voting glitches.
David Wasserman, NBC News

Trailing Joe Biden in polls, President Donald Trump is attacking mail-in voting as a potential source of illegal Democratic votes on a near-daily basis. But the biggest risk of a pandemic-induced crush of mail-in votes isn’t fraud, an extraordinarily rare occurrence in American elections. The real danger is a perfect catastrophe of administrative overload, postal delays and voter error that could lead to millions of absentee ballots not counting.

Trump Might Try to Postpone the Election. That’s Unconstitutional.
Steven G. Calabresi, The New York Times

I have voted Republican in every presidential election since 1980, including voting for Donald Trump in 2016. I wrote op-eds and a law review article protesting what I believe was an unconstitutional investigation by Robert Mueller. 

Does Trump Want to Save His Economy?
Jim Tankersley, The New York Times

The United States just suffered its worst economic quarter in nearly 75 years. Its recovery from the depths of a pandemic-induced recession has stalled, as coronavirus deaths rise again across the country. President Trump has what appears to be one final chance to cut a deal with Congress to ensure hard-hit workers and businesses do not collapse before the November election. He has shown little interest in taking it.

Research Reports and Polling

Democrats Are on Track to Win Decisive Battleground Suburbs They Lost in 2016
Ryan Pougiales, Third Way

Democrats’ path to victory in 2020 requires strong majorities in cities and minimizing losses in rural stretches, but it hinges on performance in the suburbs. In 2016, Hillary Clinton lost the six key battleground states (Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) by a combined 455,204 votes; she lost the suburban counties in those states by 560,412.

Morning Consult