Garrett VeneKlasen (D) is running for Land Commissioner in New Mexico, an office which oversees millions of acres of land in the state, including areas that President Trump would need to build a border wall.
Trump Not Prepping for North Korea Summit
“With just one month until a scheduled sit-down with North Korea’s leader, President Trump hasn’t set aside much time to prepare for meeting with Kim Jong Un, a stark contrast to the approach of past presidents,” Time reports.
Said one administration official: “He doesn’t think he needs to.”
“Aides plan to squeeze in time for Trump to learn more about Kim’s psychology and strategize on ways to respond to offers Kim may make in person, but so far a detailed plan hasn’t been laid out for getting Trump ready for the summit.”
Mueller Issues Subpoenas for Roger Stone Adviser
Special counsel Robert Mueller has issued two subpoenas to a social media expert who worked for longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone during the 2016 presidential election campaign, Reuters reports.
“The subpoenas were delivered late last week to lawyers representing Jason Sullivan, a social media and Twitter specialist Stone hired to work for an independent political action committee he set up to support Trump, Knut Johnson, a lawyer for Sullivan.”
GOP Rebuffs Trump Push to Cut Spending
“Republican lawmakers are pushing back against President Trump’s request for Congress to cut $15 billion from programs including children’s health insurance and Ebola disaster relief, saying the vote could make them vulnerable to Democratic attacks in this year’s midterm campaign,” the Washington Post reports.
“A vote for the spending cuts could be helpful for House Republicans facing primary challenges from the right, but other Republicans, some facing tough midterm races, are balking, raising questions about whether the House will be able to pass the administration’s spending cut request at all.”
Ivey Denies She’s Gay
A little more than 12 hours after a state legislator suggested she was gay, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) issued a strong denial, the Birmingham News reports.
Said Ivey: “This most recent personal attack against me is beyond disgraceful. It’s a disgusting lie being pushed by a paid left wing liberal political operative. There is absolutely no truth to it. It’s false. It’s wrong. It’s a bald faced lie. And I’m not gonna let them get away with it.”
Quote of the Day
“If our leaders seek to conceal the truth or we as people become accepting of alternative realities that are no longer grounded in facts then we as American citizens are on a pathway to relinquishing our freedom.”
— Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, quoted by NBC News, giving the commencement address at the Virginia Military Institute.
‘Crossfire Hurricane’
“Within hours of opening an investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia in the summer of 2016, the F.B.I. dispatched a pair of agents to London on a mission so secretive that all but a handful of officials were kept in the dark,” the New York Times reports.
“Their assignment, which has not been previously reported, was to meet the Australian ambassador, who had evidence that one of Donald J. Trump’s advisers knew in advance about Russian election meddling. After tense deliberations between Washington and Canberra, top Australian officials broke with diplomatic protocol and allowed the ambassador, Alexander Downer, to sit for an F.B.I. interview to describe his meeting with the campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos.”
“The agents summarized their highly unusual interview and sent word to Washington on Aug. 2, 2016, two days after the investigation was opened. Their report helped provide the foundation for a case that, a year ago Thursday, became the special counsel investigation. But at the time, a small group of F.B.I. officials knew it by its code name: Crossfire Hurricane.”
Mystery Phone Call May Be Key to What Trump Knew
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Senate Intelligence Committee Breaks with House
“The Senate Intelligence Committee says the U.S. intelligence community was correct in assessing that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections with the aim of helping Donald Trump, contradicting findings House Republicans reached last month,” the Washington Post reports.
“The determination sets up a clash within the GOP over which record of events is most accurate, a dispute that could complicate the party’s messaging surrounding the Russia investigations as it heads into the 2018 election season.”
GOP Leaders Warn Members on Immigration Vote
“Republican leaders warned rank-and-file members Wednesday not to move ahead with a discharge petition to force an immigration vote, saying the effort would effectively hand over power to the Democrats,” The Hill reports.
“Eighteen Republicans have signed on to a discharge petition to force a series of votes on several immigration bills… If all Democrats back the petition, the sponsors would only need 25 Republicans to do so, a number that appears to be within reach despite opposition from GOP leaders.”
McCain Not a Hero to Trump Supporters
First Read: “A focus group of six Trump voters and six Clinton voters outside of Milwaukee on Tuesday night laid bare the deep rifts between Trump’s backers and his detractors with his voters steadfastly repeating the president’s claims that the investigation is a political ‘witch hunt.'”
“Perhaps the most vivid illustration of Trump’s impact on partisanship, though, came not in the discussion about Mueller but in a routine word-association exercise. Asked to think of a single word or phrase to describe Arizona Sen. John McCain, who is currently gravely ill with cancer, the group’s Clinton voters called the onetime POW ‘strong’ and ‘a hero.’ But those who most vociferously supported Trump, who has famously clashed with McCain, referred to the 2008 GOP presidential nominee as ‘petty,’ ‘old,’ ‘a turncoat.'”
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When Putting ‘White House’ on Your Resume Doesn’t Help
“Listing a White House gig on your resume used to be considered a sparkling credential, reflecting a stint at the apex of the country’s political power,” the Boston Globe reports.
“But as with so many other things about Donald Trump’s unconventional presidency, former staffers in a White House plagued by constant intrigue and controversy are finding their association with this president a bit more complicated for post-administration prospects.”
“That’s left current and former staffers — and there are a lot of them — stuck with the advice no job-seeker wants: Adjust your expectations.”
Democrats Flip Another State Legislative Seat
“Democrats flipped another seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday night, bringing the total number of state legislative flips to 41 since Donald Trump’s inauguration,” the Daily Beast reports.
Democrats Plan to Make Net Neutrality an Election Issue
Axios: “The linchpin of that strategy is a vote in the Senate Wednesday on a measure to undo the Federal Communications Commission’s 2017 repeal of net neutrality rules. That raises the prominence of the effort to preserve the neutrality rules — and will put at least some Republicans on record as opposing it.”
“The net neutrality voters care a lot about the issue, even if they make up only a small portion of the population.”