General
Postal Service says it has ‘ample capacity’ to handle election after Trump casts doubt
Jessica Dean et al., CNN
The US Postal Service definitively said Monday that it had the capacity to handle the added volume of mail-in ballots in November’s general election after President Donald Trump questioned its ability to do so. “The Postal Service has ample capacity to adjust our nationwide processing and delivery network to meet projected Election and Political Mail volume, including any additional volume that may result as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the agency said in a statement.
North Korea has ‘probably’ developed nuclear devices to fit ballistic missiles, U.N. report says
Michelle Nichols, Reuters
North Korea is pressing on with its nuclear weapons program and several countries believe it has “probably developed miniaturized nuclear devices to fit into the warheads of its ballistic missiles,” according to a confidential U.N. report.
What Happened to the Young Voters Focused on Guns?
Giovanni Russonello, The New York Times
After the mass shooting in 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School left 17 people dead in Parkland, Fla., the massacre’s young survivors converted their outrage into political organizing. Alongside other student leaders across the country, they brought hundreds of thousands of people to Washington for the March for Our Lives, pressed the case for tougher gun laws in the Florida legislature and at the U.S. Senate, registered 50,000 new voters nationally, and helped drive a surge in turnout by young people in that year’s midterm elections.
White House & Administration
Trump criticizes Birx for the first time after she issues coronavirus warnings
Betsy Klein, CNN
President Donald Trump criticized Dr. Deborah Birx in a Monday tweet after she warned the pandemic is “extraordinarily widespread” in the US. While Trump and other top White House officials have publicly attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the tweet marked the first time Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, publicly drew Trump’s ire.
Trump nursing home plan limits supply of free COVID-19 tests
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, The Associated Press
The Trump administration’s plan to provide every nursing home with a fast COVID-19 testing machine comes with an asterisk: The government won’t supply enough test kits to check staff and residents beyond an initial couple of rounds. A program that sounded like a game changer when it was announced last month at the White House is now prompting concerns that it could turn into another unfulfilled promise for nursing homes, whose residents and staff represent a tiny share of the U.S. population but account for as many as 4 in 10 coronavirus deaths, according to some estimates.
Exclusive: Trump declines to praise John Lewis, citing inauguration snub
David Nather, Axios
President Trump dismissed the legacy of the late Rep. John Lewis in an interview with “Axios on HBO,” saying only that Lewis made a “big mistake” by not coming to his inauguration. Trump’s comments were a glaring contrast with the praise Republicans and Democrats showered upon Lewis this week, and a default to personal grudges during a week of mourning for a civil rights hero.
Trump extends National Guard virus mission through 2020 but cuts federal funds by quarter
Alice Miranda Ollstein, Politico
President Donald Trump has extended the federal deployment of nearly 25,000 National Guard members detailed to coronavirus relief efforts until the end of 2020, but ordered states to start picking up 25 percent of the tab — millions per month at a time states are struggling financially. Though many states are reporting record cases and hospitalizations amid a resurgence of the virus, the memorandum released Monday night says the decrease in financial support comes “as the United States transitions to a period of increased economic activity and recovery in those areas of the Nation where the threat posed by COVID-19 has been sufficiently mitigated.
Pentagon to Bolster Poland Presence With 1,000 More Personnel
Glen Carey, Bloomberg
The Pentagon said the U.S. and Poland have completed negotiations on an expanded defense cooperation agreement that will result in 1,000 additional U.S. personnel being sent to the Eastern European country on a rotational basis. The increased presence will include forward elements of the U.S. Army’s V Corps headquarters and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said in a statement on Monday.
Chad Wolf emerges as Trump’s favorite Department of Homeland Security chief
Nick Miroff and Josh Dawsey, The Washington Post
Chad Wolf often was overshadowed by more bombastic political appointees at the Department of Homeland Security in the months after President Trump named him acting secretary last fall. In April, Wolf’s staff set up an Instagram account to enhance their boss’s profile. The photos showed him touring Trump’s border wall, appearing at the White House with the president and riding DHS helicopters.
Trump Dismisses 2 T.V.A. Board Members After Outsourcing Dispute
Michael D. Shear, The New York Times
President Trump abruptly announced on Monday the firing of two members of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s board of directors and demanded that the electric utility’s chief executive reverse what he said was a decision to outsource workers to other countries. The president’s announcement came during a White House meeting in which he signed an executive order seeking to ensure that the government hired Americans.
U.S. Aid Agency Official Departs After Series of Anti-Gay Tweets
Nick Wadhams, Bloomberg
The deputy White House liaison for the U.S. Agency for International Development stepped down hours after writing a barrage of tweets saying “gay marriage isn’t marriage” and that the U.S. gives aid only to countries that “celebrate sexual deviancy.” Merritt Corrigan’s appointment earlier this year had attracted criticism from congressional Democrats given her history of anti-gay remarks, including criticism of what she called a “tyrannical LGBT agenda.”
New Emails Detail The Behind-The-Scenes Drama After The Justice Department Recommended A Lesser Sentence For Roger Stone
Zoe Tillman and Jason Leopold, BuzzFeed News
At 2:59 p.m. on Feb. 11, Aaron Zelinsky, one of the lead prosecutors in the criminal case against Trump ally Roger Stone, sent an email notifying his supervisor J.P. Cooney that he was withdrawing from Stone’s case. In an email one minute later, according to the time stamp, Cooney tried to stop him.
Senate
As Trump’s latest effort for new FBI headquarters falls flat, Shelby moves parts of the bureau to Alabama
Jonathan O’Connell and Erica Werner, The Washington Post
Three years after President Trump canceled a decade-long plan to build an FBI headquarters in the Washington suburbs, the bureau’s effort at securing a new home remains mired in uncertainty, with no active plan or funding source and thousands of agents still working at the crumbling and poorly secured J. Edgar Hoover Building in downtown Washington. But there is ample financial support and a clear plan for another FBI headquarters project, one in Hunstville, Ala., that will welcome 1,500 of the bureau’s headquarters staff from the Washington region next year and probably thousands more in coming years.
As nation grapples with crisis, McConnell and Schumer aren’t negotiating — with each other
Manu Raju, CNN
In the months since Congress has tried to respond to the coronavirus outbreak, the two most powerful players in the Senate have rarely engaged directly in talks with one another about the legislative response — instead, often trading openly hostile barbs during this high-stakes election year. And as Washington now struggles with its biggest challenge in its response so far, with the two parties at sharp odds over the next phase of its response and with millions waiting for an extension of expired jobless benefits assistance, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have yet to sit down to see if they can cut a deal that can achieve the 60 votes needed in the deeply divided body.
Tensions flare as GOP’s Biden probe ramps up
Jordain Carney, The Hill
Tensions are ramping up over a GOP probe into the Obama administration that focuses, in part, on Hunter Biden, the son of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Months into the controversial Senate Republican investigation, frustration appears to be boiling over as both sides ramp up their attacks in the growing shadow of the November election.
House
House committee subpoenas 4 top Pompeo aides
Kyle Cheney, Politico
A top House Democrat has subpoenaed four senior aides to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, accusing them of resisting interviews in an investigation of President Donald Trump’s firing of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) issued the subpoenas Monday to Brian Bulatao, the undersecretary of State for management and a longtime Pompeo associate, as well as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mike Miller, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Marik String and senior adviser Toni Porter.
House committee requests hearing with postmaster general amid mail-in voting concerns
Justine Coleman, The Hill
The House Oversight and Reform Committee on Monday asked Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to answer questions at an upcoming hearing as concerns mount over delivery delays and how they could affect mail-in voting. Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) announced the committee sent a letter to DeJoy asking for his testimony on Sept. 17 to “examine operation changes to the U.S. Postal Service.”
McCarthy leaves Intel spot open months after Ratcliffe confirmation
Martin Matishak and Melanie Zanona, Politico
House Republicans aren’t rushing to fill an empty seat on the high-profile House Intelligence Committee that has remained vacant for months, even as Congress grapples with potential foreign interference in the upcoming elections. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is taking his time deciding who should replace former Rep. John Ratcliffe — now the Director of National Intelligence — on the prestigious panel, according to sources familiar with the California Republican’s thinking, and a pick isn’t expected anytime soon.
Democrats to introduce legislation to tighten DHS intel oversight
Betsy Woodruff Swan, Politico
Members of Congress responsible for oversight of the Department of Homeland Security will introduce legislation strengthening its internal civil rights office, they announced Monday. The move comes after POLITICO reported that a top DHS official limited the ability of that office to oversee the work of the department’s intelligence arm.
2020
Senate Republican Primary In Kansas Highlights 5 Races To Watch Tuesday
Benjamin Swasey, NPR News
Voters head to the polls in a handful of states Tuesday, in the latest tests of voting systems stressed by the ongoing pandemic. Primaries are set for Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington state. (Tennessee holds its contests Thursday.)
Trump pledges lawsuit to block mail-in voting in Nevada
Quint Forgey and Matthew Choi, Politico
President Donald Trump plans to sue to stop Nevada from issuing mailed ballots to all active voters, he announced at a White House briefing on Monday. Trump had already threatened legal action earlier in the day, suggesting mailed ballots would make it impossible for Republicans to win there in the November general election.
Trump is registering more new voters than Democrats in key states
Stef W. Kight, Axios
The Trump campaign and RNC have now registered 100,000 new voters in the 2020 cycle, more than doubling their numbers from 2016 and shrinking Democrats’ registration advantage in key swing states, according to new Trump Victory data provided exclusively to Axios.
Gettysburg? The Liberty Bell? Trump Weighs R.N.C. Speech Options
Annie Karni, The New York Times
A presidential address in front of the Gettysburg battlefield, or at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. A speech from the first lady, Melania Trump, at Seneca Falls, N.Y., the cradle of the national movement for women’s rights. Perhaps a stage for the warm-up acts built at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Trump campaign restarts TV advertising with spots slamming Biden
Quint Forgey, Politico
President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign released two new advertisements Monday casting former Vice President Joe Biden as beholden to the left wing of the Democratic Party, deploying the 30-second spots in four early voting swing states. The media offensive comes after the president’s campaign went dark on television airwaves last week amid a reevaluation of its advertising strategy by Bill Stepien, Trump’s newly installed campaign manager.
Two People Linked to Kanye West’s Campaign Are Active in GOP Politics
Ben Jacobs, New York Magazine
At least two people with links to Kanye West’s nascent presidential campaign are also active in Republican Party politics. One of West’s electors in the state of Vermont will also be a delegate to the Republican National Convention in Charlotte.
Obama throws support behind 118 candidates in first wave of endorsements
Marisa Fernandez, Axios
Former President Barack Obama on Monday endorsed 118 candidates running for office in November, including 52 campaigning for the House and Senate. Obama consistently rates as one of the Democratic Party’s most popular figures and is starting to campaign more aggressively after staying on the sidelines for much of the primary season.
States
How Ballot Initiatives Changed the Game on Medicaid Expansion
Sarah Kliff, The New York Times
It was the middle of 2016, and Obamacare supporters were stuck. Nineteen states were refusing to participate in the health law’s Medicaid expansion, which provides health coverage to low-income Americans.
U.S. judge orders election boards to extend count of absentee ballots in New York state primary
Aishwarya Nair, Reuters
A U.S. judge late on Monday ordered all local boards of election in New York state to count “thousands” of absentee ballots received the day after a congressional primary held last June 23 but previously disqualified because of postmark problems. According to the ruling by Judge Analisa Torres of Federal District Court in Manhattan, the absentee ballots are to be counted “without regard to whether such ballots are postmarked by June 23.”
Coronavirus cases are climbing in Midwest states with previously low infections
Anne Gearan et al., The Washington Post
The novel coronavirus is surging in several Midwestern states that had not previously seen high infection rates while average daily deaths remained elevated Monday in Southern and Western states hit with a resurgence of the disease after lifting some restrictions earlier this summer. Missouri, Montana and Oklahoma are among those witnessing the largest percentage surge of infections over the past week, while, adjusted for population, the number of new cases in Florida, Mississippi and Alabama still outpaced all other states, according to a Washington Post analysis of health data.
Advocacy
Rescue of Troubled Trucking Company With White House Ties Draws Scrutiny
Alan Rappeport, The New York Times
At a virtual congressional hearing in May, Senator Jerry Moran, Republican of Kansas, asked Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for help. A struggling trucking company in his state was on the brink of collapse and needed government support.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
Trump is resurrecting the census’s horrific history
Karen Bass and Stacey Abrams, The Washington Post
To tell the story of America, we must see who lives within her borders. The census is the constitutionally protected tool wielded every 10 years to take stock, assess the accuracy of our national narrative, and ensure a fair and equitable distribution of political power and money to the places where people live.
COVID-19 puts our children at high risk of long-term hardship
John Bel Edwards and Kim Reynolds, USA Today
We as governors — along with decision makers in state legislatures, school boards, workforce boards, and city and county governments — assess each day the growing damage of COVID-19 to our economic, educational, social and health care systems. We are especially concerned about the millions of young Americans who have been away from school for many weeks and graduating seniors who seek to enter the workforce and higher education.
It’s the Pandemic, Stupid! A Simplified Model for Forecasting the 2020 Presidential Election
Alan I. Abramowitz, Sabato’s Crystal Ball
The 2020 presidential election presents forecasters with unique challenges. First and foremost, the election is taking place in the midst of one of the most severe crises that the United States has faced in the past hundred years — the coronavirus pandemic.
A Day Of Reckoning Is Coming With The National Debt
Nikki Haley, Medium
I‘m often asked about America’s biggest challenges. On the world stage, communist China tops the list.
Research Reports and Polling
American Views 2020: Trust, Media and Democracy
Gallup and Knight Foundation
There is a widening gulf between American aspirations for and assessments of the news media. With each passing benchmark study, the American people render deeper and increasingly polarized judgments about the news media and how well it is fulfilling its role in our democracy.
|
