One of the Republican Party’s early, big moves to back President Trump’s anti-vote-by-mail crusade petered out last week, with California’s passage of a vote-by-mail bill. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) first tried to make November’s election vote-by-mail — meaning every voter receives a mail ballot — by executive order. The move prompted an RNC lawsuit, so the legislature took up a measure making the change statutorily instead. Newsom signed the legislation last week.
Where Things Stand: Faulty Testing Logic
Out of sight, out of mind.
IN Councilman Who Made Comment About BLM Protesters ‘Breeding’ Resigns
Larry Brown, the councilman in Allen County, Indiana who said that “unfortunately,” Black Lives Matter protesters “breed” resigned on Monday.
Continue reading “IN Councilman Who Made Comment About BLM Protesters ‘Breeding’ Resigns”
Trump Refuses To Confirm Whether He Asked Staff To ‘Slow The Testing Down’ For COVID-19
Amid ongoing attempts to save face as the number of positive coronavirus cases continues to rise around the country, President Trump would not say whether or not he had requested that his staff “slow the testing down.”
VIDEO: Just asked President Trump if he actually ordered testing to be slowed down. He said in his Saturday speech he did. He didn't answer the direct question. pic.twitter.com/aDKGu6F2Ok
— Joe St. George (@JoeStGeorge) June 22, 2020
WH Adviser Will Depart Trump Admin After Temporary Return To Assist COVID-19 Response
White House adviser Kevin Hassett will reportedly depart the Trump administration this summer following his return in March to assist the President in response to the economic turbulence from the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading “WH Adviser Will Depart Trump Admin After Temporary Return To Assist COVID-19 Response”
US Attorney, FBI, DOJ ‘Reviewing’ Situation After Noose Found In NASCAR Driver’s Garage
A U.S. attorney, the FBI and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice are “reviewing the situation” after a noose was found in the garage of a Black NASCAR driver.
WSJ: Before His Ouster, Berman Beefed With DOJ Over COVID Letter To De Blasio
Ex-U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman had a disagreement with top officials at the Justice Department the day before he was ousted over a letter the department wanted to send New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Continue reading “WSJ: Before His Ouster, Berman Beefed With DOJ Over COVID Letter To De Blasio”
How The GOP Gave Up On Governing In Order To Keep Winning Elections
The following is an excerpt from “The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics” by Steve Benen. It is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.
Last week was an unpleasant one for the White House. Donald Trump and his team continued to watch the coronavirus crisis intensify; the administration suffered another round of legal defeats; the president’s re-election campaign faced pushback over a needlessly dangerous vanity exercise in Tulsa; and John Bolton exposed Trump as, among other things, a leader who always prioritizes politics over policy.
Continue reading “How The GOP Gave Up On Governing In Order To Keep Winning Elections”
WH Ends Mandatory Temperature Tests For Staffers And Visitors
The White House is no longer requiring its staffers and visitors to take temperature checks before entering the premises amid COVID-19.
Continue reading “WH Ends Mandatory Temperature Tests For Staffers And Visitors”
The Fall
All political power is unitary. It is one of the great lessons for thinking about politics. You are always in the process of adding to it or diminishing it. Assert power and sustain it and you gain power. Fail to do so and a politician grows weaker. This is why the concept of expending ‘political capital’ is mostly nonsense.
We have seen this unfolding before us over the last month. President Trump now daily asserts power he cannot sustain. ‘Law and Order’ street fighting confrontations using the US military, Bolton’s book, bungled DOJ purges, a humiliating Tulsa venture. Each gambit newly exposes his deteriorating power and thus hastens the process, emboldening others to oppose or resist him.