Friday Night Politics Summary
Here’s an updated recap of today’s political news as we close out the Friday night live politics blog:
- Republican lawmakers in Florida have passed a bill that would reverse voters’ historic decision in November to restore voting rights to 1.5 million citizens convicted of felony offenses. The Republican effort has been labeled “a modern-day poll tax.”
- A day after Facebook banned several far-right figures, including high-profile racists and Islamophobes, President Donald Trump railed against the “the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms,” highlighting in particular Facebook’s recent ban of a British conspiracy theorist, who Trump labeled a “conservative thinker”
- Trump also said he discussed the Mueller report with Vladimir Putin in a phone call, stating the Russian president told him what “started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse”;
- The Trump administration is weighing a proposal that would make it easier to deport immigrants who have used public benefits;
- New York City mayor Bill De Blasio, whose leadership has faced broad criticism in his home city, is expected to launch a 2020 presidential campaign next week, according to reports;
- Former White House chief of staff John Kelly has joined the board of a company overseeing migrant detention facilities, thereby repeating the benefits of the policies he helped enact, and prompting condemnations from 2020 Democratic candidates, who called the move “disgusting” and “unbelievable.”
The president elaborated his complaints about conservative “censorship” on social media, highlighting his concerns about the treatment of Diamond and Silk, two online commenters who have been championed by Republicans for being black women who support Trump, James Woods, and Paul Watson, a British editor of Infowars, Alex Jones’ conspiracy site.
Trump appeared on Infowars, which has promoted multiple conspiracy theories, including the conspiracy that the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting was a hoax, in 2015, and told host Alex Jones “Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down.”
The wonderful Diamond and Silk have been treated so horribly by Facebook. They work so hard and what has been done to them is very sad - and we’re looking into. It’s getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019
So surprised to see Conservative thinkers like James Woods banned from Twitter, and Paul Watson banned from Facebook! https://t.co/eHX3Z5CMXb
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019
Earlier, before the President’s tweets, some American conservatives objected to the idea that Watson should be defended at all, and particularly defended as a “conservative.” Alex Griswold, a reporter for the conservative Washington Free Beacon news site, called Watson “obviously an extremist.”
He is very very very very very very very very very very very obviously an extremist. https://t.co/4pK2klhbqi
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) May 3, 2019
Updated
Last November, Florida’s voters chose to restore voting rights to nearly 1.5 million ex-felons in the state.
Now, Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature has passed a bill that is expected to claw back voting rights from hundreds of thousands of people by imposing financial requirements before former felons can vote.
Khushbu Shah has the full story:
Florida’s restrictive felony disenfranchisement laws can be traced back to the end of the civil war and are linked to racial discrimination. The state, then an ex-confederate one, rejected the 14th amendment to the US constitution in 1868, adding a provision that banned male citizens with felony convictions from voting, targeting African Americans through the “Black Code”, a list of crimes that designated even “disrespect to an employer” as a felony.
Ari Berman, a journalist and author who has specialized in covering American voting rights battles, called the Florida bill “a modern day poll tax,” referring to the 19th century laws designed to disenfranchise black voters by requiring them to pay a fee to vote.
Ibram X. Kendi, a historian and a contributing editor of The Guardian’s Antiracism and America series, quoted W.E.B. Du Bois:
“The slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again towards slavery.” https://t.co/V3UVatbihX
— Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) May 3, 2019
A day after Facebook announced that it was banning a handful of far-right figures, including Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist who once interviewed Donald Trump on his show, the president is once again tweeting about “censorship” on social media platforms.
The accounts Facebook banned yesterday included far-right troll Milo Yiannopoulos, anti-Muslim activist Laura Loomer, and the Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan, who has posted antisemitic material.
I am continuing to monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms. This is the United States of America — and we have what’s known as FREEDOM OF SPEECH! We are monitoring and watching, closely!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019
Trump has repeatedly promoted the narrative, popular among American conservatives, that they are being censored by American social media platforms.
Here’s an explanation of what the president got wrong when he tweeted, previously, that Twitter was “shadow banning” conservatives.
As my colleague Julia Carrie Wong explained last year, when Trump was tweeting about supposed bias in Google search results, Trump was “wrong that the biases in Google’s search algorithms are partisan – or designed to harm his and other Republicans’ reputations.”
The insistence of seeing partisan bias in algorithmic bias “obscures the true nature of the various biases that shape our digital realities,” she wrote.
When John Kelly served as Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff, the retired four-star Marine general was often portrayed as the adult in the room, and a moderating force on the president.
As he left the White House at the end of last year, Kelly repeatedly insisted that the Trump administration’s family separation policy was a “surprise” to him and other officials. He blamed former Attorney General Jeff Session for the policy.
“What happened was Jeff Sessions, he was the one that instituted the zero-tolerance process on the border that resulted in both people being detained and the family separation,” Kelly told the Los Angeles Times in December. “He surprised us.”
Kelly public comments, after his White House tenure, that migrants to the United States were “overwhelmingly not criminals” and that constructing a wall across the entire US-Mexico border was a “waste of money” led to headlines like “John Kelly, Out of White House, Breaks with Trump Policy.”
Kelly’s choice to join the board of the company operating the United States’ largest shelter for unaccompanied migrant children is now prompting furious condemnation, including from Democratic presidential candidates.
New Jersey senator Cory Booker, one of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidates, called it “disgusting.”
Profiting from your own cruel policies. This is disgusting. https://t.co/1hEtmFZH7s
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 3, 2019
Lois Beckett here, picking up our Friday evening live politics coverage from The Guardian’s West Coast bureau in Oakland.
CBS News reported earlier this afternoon that former White House chief of staff John Kelly has joined the board of a company that operates the largest facility for unaccompanied migrant children in the US.
The news has prompted condemnation. Raices Texas, a legal aid center for migrants, called Kelly “corrupt.”
Julián Castro, a former Obama administration official and one of the 2020 Democratic presidential contenders, called it “unbelievable.”
—Go from private equity firm to the White House ✔️
— RAICES (@RAICESTEXAS) May 3, 2019
—Preside over huge increase in child detention ✔️
—Leave gov job & *4 mo's later* join operator of child detention center, owned by former firm ✔️
John Kelly is corrupt. "Draining the swamp" was a joke.https://t.co/O8EU9KWRxZ
After implementing one of the cruelest immigration agendas in our nation’s history, disgraced Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly will now profit from detaining immigrant children and families. Unbelievable. https://t.co/G6ma87SXkS
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) May 3, 2019
While one expert told CBS that it was likely that Kelly avoided “”directly violating any policies,” Delaney Marsco, ethics counsel at the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, told CBS that Kelly’s career trajectory raised ethical questions.
“The fact is that when he was in the White House, the government took action that swelled the population of people that were in these facilities, and that benefited his former employer. That’s the exact kind of situation that is why we have the ethics clause,” Marsco said.
Ok folks, that’s it for me, Sabrina Siddiqui, today. But there’s more to come as my fabulous colleague Lois Beckett takes the reins for the rest of the day.
But before I go, allow me to bring you up to speed on the past few hours in Washington and beyond:
- Donald Trump said he discussed the Mueller report with Vladimir Putin in a phone call, stating the Russian president told him what “started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse”;
- The Trump administration is weighing a proposal that would make it easier to deport immigrants who have used public benefits;
- New York City mayor Bill De Blasio is expected to launch a 2020 presidential campaign next week, according to reports;
- A federal judge is allowing a new challenge to Trump’s travel ban against several Muslim-majority countries, signaling the fight is not over;
- Former White House chief of staff John Kelly has joined the board of a company overseeing migrant detention facilities, thereby repeating the benefits of the policies he helped enact.
Over to Lois and have a great weekend!
Elizabeth Warren is not taking anyone’s bait:
.@ewarren is asked if she can name a disagreement between her and other Democratic candidate, but she doesn't bite.
— Jess Bidgood (@jessbidgood) May 3, 2019
"I’m just gonna be blunt, I’m not here to knock other Democrats."
Let’s see if this kumbaya approach holds.
John Kelly joins board of company operating migrant detention center
Former White House chief of staff John Kelly has joined the board of a company that operates the largest facility for unaccompanied migrant children in the US.
CBS News reported on Friday that Kelly is now a member of the board of directors at Caliburn International, the parent company of Comprehensive Health Services. The latter is the only private company operating migrant shelters.
Kelly previously oversaw the implementation of Donald Trump hardline immigration practices while serving as the department of homeland security secretary during the first six months of the administration. He then served as Trump’s chief of staff from July of 2017 until his resignation last December.
During his time at the White House, Kelly was a forceful advocate of restricting even legal immigration and supported the president’s policy of separating families at the US-Mexico border.
This one’s particularly ugly — Trump’s former Homeland Security Chief John Kelly has joined the board of the company operating the biggest shelter for unaccompanied migrant kids.
— Justin Kanew (@Kanew) May 3, 2019
The revolving door goes round and round. Deeply disturbing.https://t.co/wczb3M3sqU
Judge allows Trump's travel ban challenge to continue
A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit challenging Donald Trump’s ban on immigrants from several Muslim-majority countries can continue, reviving an issue that was thought to be settled by the US supreme court last year.
In a ruling issued late Thursday, Theodore Chuang, a US district judge in Maryland, allowed opponents of the travel ban to move forward in challenging its legality.
The travel ban was upheld by the supreme court last year.
But a group of plaintiffs -- led by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Maryland, the National Immigration Law Center, and the International Refugee Assistance Project -- are suing the Trump administration for violating the terms of the travel ban.
According to the lawsuit, the Trump administration did not create a process for individuals to waivers from the travel restrictions -- as outlined in the proclamation signed by the president. The administration has also yet to lay out a review process under which the travel restrictions would be reevaluated in the future.
“The Muslim ban is a national disgrace,” said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project.
Every day that it remains in effect, our country inflicts real pain on countless American Muslims because of President Trump’s open and ignorant prejudice against their religion. We will not stop fighting until the ban is gone.”
Trump infamously campaigned to ban all Muslims from entering the US. In one of his first acts as president, Trump signed an executive order banning travelers from several Muslim-majority countries and temporarily suspending the entire US refugee program.
Several iterations of Trump’s travel ban were defeated in the courts, before the conservative-leaning supreme court allowed a third to go into effect in June of 2018.
Trump weighs proposal to deport immigrants who use public benefits: Report
Donald Trump’s administration is considering a plan that would make it easier to deport immigrants who have used public benefits.
Reuters reports:
A Department of Justice draft regulation, seen by Reuters, dramatically expands the category of people who could be subject to deportation on the grounds that they use benefits.
Currently, those legal permanent residents who are declared to be a “public charge,” or primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, can be deported - but in practice, this is very rare.
The draft regulation would use a more expansive definition to include some immigrants who have used an array of public benefits, including cash welfare, food stamps, housing aid, or Medicaid.”
The plan, which is in its early stages and may not be enacted, would almost certainly face a litany of legal challenges. It nonetheless fits in line with Trump’s efforts to crack down on legal immigration.
Read the full Reuters report here.
Updated
Bill De Blasio to launch presidential campaign: report
In case you were yearning for more than just 22 Democratic presidential contenders, the field is about to get even more crowded.
New York city mayor Bill De Blasio is expected to announce he is running for president next week, the New York Daily News reported.
The announcement, according to the paper, could come as early as De Blasio’s 58th birthday on Wednesday. Apparently there’s no better gift to give oneself than telling yourself you can be president, or something like that.
A spokesperson for De Blasio’s political action committee told the Daily News no decision had been made. But he also did not deny De Blasio’s plans, so we may well have to endure yet another campaign launch to pay for whatever sins we appeared to have committed in a previous life.
Never mind that 76% of registered voters in De Blasio’s own city don’t think he should run. And that the mayor has himself acknowledged he most likely wouldn’t qualify for the debates at this stage.
I guess when 11 white men are already running, why not one more?
Updated
Trump says Putin 'smiled' over Mueller report
We’re not entirely sure how to tell if someone on the other end of the phone is smiling.
But apparently Donald Trump can.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, the president recounted his hour-long phone conversation with Vladimir and said the following of his Russian counterpart’s reaction to the Mueller report:
He actually sort of smiled when he said something to the effect that it started off as a mountain and ended up being a mouse.”
“I had a very good talk with President Putin, probably over an hour,” Trump added. “We talked about many things.”
The president confirmed the political unrest in Venezuela was among the topics discussed between the two leaders. But he curiously said that Putin “is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela, other than he would like to see something positive happen”.
Putin has in fact dispatched Russian troops to support Nicolas Maduro amid an anti-government uprising led by opposition leader Juan Guaido. The Trump administration has stood on the opposite side, formally recognizing Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela and calling on Maduro to go.
So in case you were expecting this to be the moment Trump broke from his pro-Russia fever, guess again.
Donald Trump did not discuss the testimony of Don McGahn with Vladimir Putin, contrary to earlier reports.
Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, was asked if McGahn, the former White House counsel, was told not to testify before Congress.
“I am not aware of a formal conversation on that front,” she responded.
Sanders’ comments on McGahn were independent of Trump’s phone call with Putin, which covered the Mueller report and other topics.
McGahn was a key witness during the Trump-Russia investigation, describing to Mueller’s team how Trump called him at home and told him to instruct deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein to get rid of special counsel Mueller.
McGahn never carried out the order and got ready to quit, but was persuaded to stay.
The president later urged McGahn to lie to the press about what had happened, but McGahn again balked, according to one of the more explosive items in the Mueller report, which pointed out that it was only “persons” close to the president who prevented various egregious attempts by Trump to obstruct justice.
Here’s the Guardian’s Tom McCarthy’s Mueller version of “All the president’s men.”
Updated
Here’s one WashPo scribe’s take on Trump and Putin discussing the Mueller report’s take on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election (which Robert Mueller was unequivocal in confirming happened and was extensive, per earlier intel community reports).
“Trump discussed the “Russia hoax” with Russia, whose 2016 interference the report showed to not be a “hoax,” Aaron Blake tweeted.
That little gerrymandering thing....
A federal court has ruled that Ohio’s congressional map is unconstitutional and has ordered a new one be drawn for the 2020 elections.
A three-judge panel of the US district court in Cincinnati ruled unanimously Friday that district boundaries were manipulated for partisan gain by Republican mapmakers and violate voters’ rights democratically to select their representatives, the AP writes.
The ruling blocks Ohio from holding another election under the current map.
The ruling is likely to be appealed to the US Supreme Court.
Voters’ rights and Democratic groups who sued Ohio Republican officials said redistricting completed after the 2010 Census yielded a statewide map that has produced an unbending 12-4 Republican advantage in Ohio’s delegation.
Republicans said the map was drawn with bipartisan support.
From Potus himself, on Twitter: “Had a long and very good conversation with President Putin of Russia. As I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing, not a bad thing....
“.......We discussed Trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the “Russian Hoax.” Very productive talk!”
....We discussed Trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the “Russian Hoax.” Very productive talk!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019
Updated
Sarah Sanders also reportedly said: “Both leaders knew there was no collusion.” And that’s why the topic was brought up so briefly.
The audacity of nope.
🚨Trump and Putin talked about the #MuellerReport in a long phone call. “Both leaders knew there was no collusion” so the discussion on the matter was "brief," WH spox Sarah Sanders claims https://t.co/7lda2lcjjN
— Paula Chertok🗽 (@PaulaChertok) May 3, 2019
Trump and Putin discussed Mueller report
Trump and Putin discussed the Mueller report during the hour-long phone call the two leaders had this morning, according to press sec Sarah Sanders.
Sanders held a gaggle outside the White House a little earlier, her now favored form of transmitting wisdom to reporters, to discuss the phone call.
She said the Mueller report was discussed “very, very briefly,” apparently only in the context of it being over (memo to Sarah: the report is in, but nothing is over).
She said the topic was chewed over “essentially in the context that it’s over and there was no collusion, which I’m pretty sure both leaders were both very well aware of long before this call took place.”
She didn’t elaborate further, but said it was a “very good discussion” and that the call’s “primary focus” was about the need to help people in Venezuela, including getting supplies to them.”
“The President reiterated the need for a peaceful transition and his focus throughout the conversation was on the need to help the people and make sure that the aid was actually getting to them and being delivered,” Sanders said.
That’s very interesting in light of the report earlier in the week from secretary of state Mike Pompeo that Venezuela’s Maduro had a plane revving up waiting to help him flee to Cuba, but Russia intervened and told him to stay put and resist his opposition and popular challengers, led by Juan Guaidó.
Updated
Just tuning in and wondering what you’ve missed? Never fear, a recap is here!
- House judiciary committee chairman Jerrold Nadler is threatening to hold William Barr in contempt if the attorney general does not comply with a Monday morning deadline and address Democrats’ demands seeking the full Mueller report;
- The drama comes amid growing calls for Barr’s resignation from Democrats in Congress and -- surprise, surprise -- nearly all 2020 presidential contenders. Some are even suggesting Congress begin impeachment proceedings against the attorney general;
- Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, is set to report to prison on Monday. Cohen, who was sentenced to three years behind bars for financial crimes and lying to Congress, will serve his time at a federal prison roughly 70 miles from New York City;
- Minnesota senator and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar has released a sweeping $100b plan to improve mental health and combat drug abuse;
- Washington governor Jay Inslee, who is also running for president, is out with a proposal of his own to combat climate change and neutralize greenhouse gas pollution in the US by 2045;
- Bill and Chelsea Clinton are launching a podcast, set to release this summer on iTunes, in a bid to expand and promote the work of the Clinton Foundation.
Stay tuned for more to come...!
Updated
Trump speaks to Putin amid Venezuela crisis
Donald Trump on Friday spoke to Russian president Vladimir Putin for more than an hour, White House press secretary told reporters.
Sanders said the two leaders had a “very good discussion” that spanned nuclear agreements, North Korea and trade.
Trump and Putin also discussed Russia’s actions in Venezuela, which are in direct contrast to those of the United States.
The US has placed its support squarely behind Juan Guaido and recognized the opposition leader as the interim president of Venezuela. Russia has meanwhile worked to prop up embattled president Nicolas Maduro amid anti-government protests.
Sanders said Trump reaffirmed to Putin “that the United States stands with the people of Venezuela”. Asked about the possible use of US military force in the region, Sanders reiterated the Trump administration’s stance that “all options are on the table”.
Top Democrat to Barr: Meet Mueller report deadline or be held in contempt
House judiciary committee chairman Jerrold Nadler has sent his latest offer to US attorney general William Barr as Democrats seek to obtain special counsel Robert Mueller’s full report and underlying evidence.
In a letter to Barr on Friday, Nadler said Democrats are willing to work with the Justice Department to prioritize which investigative materials can be seen by Congress.
He also called on Barr to reconsider the Justice Department’s refusal to allow all members of Congress and appropriate staff to review redacted portions of the report in a secure location, with the exception of grand jury material.
Nadler also issued an ultimatum to Barr, stating his committee will move to contempt proceedings if the attorney general does not respond by 9 a.m. on Monday.
“The committee is prepared to make every realistic effort to reach an accommodation with the [Justice] department,” Nadler wrote.
But if the Department persists in its baseless refusal to comply with a validly issued subpoena, the Committee will move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse.
Read Nadler’s full letter here.
Barr had previously offered for only the top twelve members of Congress to view a less-redacted version of the Mueller report in person and said they would be prohibited from discussing its contents with their lawmakers.
The dispute between congressional Democrats and Barr over the Mueller report has played out in dramatic fashion, as Democrats have called for the attorney general’s resignation and some have sought impeachment proceedings over Barr’s handling of the report.
After Barr appeared before the Senate judiciary committee in a fiery hearing on Wednesday, he refused to separately testify before the House judiciary committee on Thursday, citing the insistent by the panel’s Democrats that the attorney general be questioned by staff lawyers.
Democrats held the hearing anyway, and some members went so far as to eat fried chicken in an attempt to mock Barr for, as they put it, being afraid to face the committee.
Updated
A new analysis has confirmed that the 2018 midterm elections saw record turnout among both men and women, with voting among both demographics increasing by double digits.
The Pew Research Center study, based on new data from the US Census Bureau, also found that women turned out to vote at slightly higher rates than men.
Over half of women (55%) who were eligible to vote cast ballots in November midterms, as did 51.8% of men. The gender gap was in line with previous midterm election cycles, which also saw slightly higher turnout among women than men.
Suburban women voters were especially key to helping Democrats retake control of the House of Representatives. An unprecedented number of women were also elected to Congress, the majority of them Democrats.
Why This Matters: If the high turnout among women voters holds in the 2020 elections, Democrats stand to benefit. Single women have long been a key constituency within the Democratic base, but the 2018 midterms saw married women also increasingly move in the party’s favor. Democrats are hoping to capitalize on antipathy for Trump among women voters, although the president still enjoys broad support from white women.
Michael Cohen to report to prison Monday
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former personal attorney and “fixer”, is set to report to prison on Monday.
Cohen, 53, was sentenced in December to three years in jail for a series of financial crimes and lying to Congress. A judge had previously granted Cohen a 60-day delay in starting his prison sentence.
In dramatic testimony on Capitol Hill in February, Cohen accused Trump of being a “racist” and a “conman”.
He also said the president personally reimbursed him for the hush money Cohen paid to prevent adult film actress Stormy Daniels from speaking out about her alleged affair with Trump. The payments were a violation of US campaign finance laws.
Cohen will serve his time at a federal prison 70 miles from New York City. CBS News has more details on the facility, which is currently housing a number of former celebrities and white-collar criminals, and what a typical day for Cohen might look like:
During the week, it’s lights on at 6 a.m., followed by breakfast. Work duties, such as mowing the grounds or cleaning up the prison, are performed from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a break for lunch at 11. Dinner is served beginning at 4:15 p.m. It’s lights out at 11:30 p.m.”
Robert Mueller’s report contained many, many damning revelations about Donald Trump’s efforts to impede the FBI’s Russia investigation that included an attempt to fire the special counsel himself.
In unpacking the episodes in which the president sought to obstruct justice, Mueller cited testimony from several witnesses, including former White House counsel Don McGahn. The special counsel also referred to notes kept in a diary to memorialize Trump’s actions for the public record.
The Washington Post released a detailed report on Friday examining the notes and the woman behind them -- Annie Donaldson, McGahn’s chief of staff:
Her daily habit of documenting conversations and meetings provided the special counsel’s office with its version of the Nixon White House tapes: a running account of the president’s actions, albeit in sentence fragments and concise descriptions.
Among the episodes memorialized in Donaldson’s notes and memos: the president’s outrage when FBI Director James B. Comey confirmed the existence of the investigation into possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, Trump’s efforts to pressure Attorney General Jeff Sessions not to recuse himself from overseeing the probe and his push to get Mueller disqualified and removed as the special counsel.”
Donaldson, a low-profile conservative lawyer, emerged as a key source of what unfolded inside the West Wing as the Russia investigation clouded the first two years of Trump’s presidency.
Although Donaldson left the White House in December, she could be among those subpoenaed to face questions from the House judiciary committee. Democrats have already summoned her former boss, McGahn, who is being urged by Trump not to testify.
McGahn is another central player in the Mueller report, refusing to carry out an order from Trump to remove the special counsel.
Read the full report on Donaldson, former scribe-in-chief, here.
The president is now rejoicing in the news of the latest jobs report.
JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019
“Jobs surge in April, unemployment rate falls to the lowest since 1969” https://t.co/4DGpumMISf
What’s the over/under on how long it takes before he returns to RUSSIA RUSSIA RUSSIA?
Amy Klobuchar releases plan to address mental health
Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar on Friday released a sweeping plan to improve America’s mental health system.
The AP reports that the Minnesota senator’s proposal would dedicate $100b over a decade to improve mental health care and fight substance abuse, an issue she has faced firsthand as the daughter of an alcoholic who struggled with addiction for years before getting sober.
“The one thing I hear over and over again across the country is people’s stories of battling with mental health and addiction people need help, but they just can’t get it,” Klobuchar said.
“I believe everyone should have the same opportunity my dad had to be pursued by grace and get the treatment and help they need.”
More details on Klobuchar’s plan:
- Funding for early intervention of mental health disorders and drug use;
- A national suicide prevention campaign;
- Better access to opioid addiction and other types of treatment;
- Recruitment of health care workers to underserved rural areas and cities with the highest need.
Klobuchar also said that as president she would prioritize mental health and substance abuse treatment over incarceration for nonviolent offenders. The $100b would come largely from opioid manufacturers, which Klobuchar said is to hold them responsible for helping create the America’s opioid crisis.
Klobuchar will promote the plan during upcoming campaign stops in Michigan, Iowa and New Hampshire.
Bill and Chelsea Clinton launch podcast
Have you ever thought about how Bill Clinton really likes to talk and perhaps he should talk even more?
Well, he certainly has.
The former president has announced he will launch a podcast alongside his daughter, Chelsea Clinton, to debut this summer.
The podcast is titled Why Am I Telling You This and will see the father-daughter duo discuss “people, issues and events that shape our work and our world”. The new venture is an effort for the public to better engage with the family’s eponymous Clinton Foundation.
“Growing up in Arkansas just after World War II in a family that didn’t have a lot of money, most of our entertainment revolved around storytelling,” Bill Clinton said in a snippet introducing the podcast to iTunes. “Listening to my relatives and neighbors tell stories showed me that everyone has a story, and that everyone’s story has value.”
He added: “When I got into politics, I always thought that the main point of my work was to give people a chance to have better stories. And after I left office, that’s the same purpose that led me to start the Clinton Foundation.”
The podcast is expected to convene a wide range of voices, from public figures and celebrities to Clinton Foundation staffers.
At least two confirmed interviews include celebrity chef and philanthropist José Andrés and former US surgeon general Vivek Murthy.
As of now, there are no plans for Hillary Clinton to take on a formal role in the project. But it seems just about everyone is getting hit with the podcast bug these days, so never say never...!
US adds 263,000 jobs in April
Another bumper job report for Donald Trump landed Friday, according to my colleague Dominic Rushe, who writes:
The US added 263,000 new jobs in April and the unemployment rate fell to 3.6%, a level unseen since December 1969. Both numbers were far better than expected.
Bankers and economists are already predicting four more year of Trump if the jobs market and wider economy stay on their current trend. Last month Goldman Sachs said Trump was “more likely to win” than lose a second term.
Read Dominic’s full story on the latest US jobs report here.
You’d think the president, who is officially in his reelection campaign, would use this opportunity to tout his success.
Naturally, Trump is instead kicking off the morning by tweeting his frustrations about the Russia investigation...
Finally, Mainstream Media is getting involved - too “hot” to avoid. Pulitzer Prize anyone? The New York Times, on front page (finally), “Details effort to spy on Trump Campaign.” @foxandfriends This is bigger than WATERGATE, but the reverse!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019
Updated
Jay Inslee unveils sweeping climate plan
My colleague Emily Holden has the details on 2020 Democratic candidate Jay Inslee’s bold new climate plan:
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who is centering his presidential campaign around solving the climate crisis, unveiled a proposal to eliminate planet-warming pollution from the US electricity system by 2035.
Inslee would shut down all coal plants and require the electricity sector to be carbon-neutral by 2030, ramping up to carbon-free by 2035. He also would require new vehicles, buses, commercial and residential buildings to be emissions-free by 2030.
The three-pronged approach is meant to neutralize greenhouse gas pollution in the US by 2045.
Inslee is the second candidate to outline a climate change plan, following Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke’s proposal. O’Rourke aims to halve US emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050. Other Democrats have said they will support efforts to slash climate pollution but haven’t specified their plans this election season. Inslee has called for a climate-focused debate.
“The climate crisis is urgent - and it demands a big, bold plan to cut carbon emissions,” Inslee said in a press release. “This plan is ambitious in its scope, but practical in its aims, because it’s based off successes in Washington state and other states and cities around the country.”
Inslee will roll out his plan at an event in Los Angeles today, where Mayor Eric Garcetti is trying to neutralize carbon pollution from buildings by 2030.
Updated
2020 Democrats: William Barr must go
A growing chorus of Democrats are calling for the removal of attorney general William Barr, be it voluntarily or by force, days after his contentious testimony on Capitol Hill.
Massachusetts representative Seth Moulton, a 2020 presidential contender, said Barr should face impeachment hearings over his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
“I’m absolutely for holding impeachment hearings,” Moulton said in an interview on CNN.
Although Moulton said he didn’t think it was the “right time” to vote to impeach Barr, he said US lawmakers should at least consider the issue.
“Don’t tell me when you have over 30 people indicted by the Mueller investigation, the [Trump] campaign chairman in prison right now, that we shouldn’t be debating this as Congress. That’s our job,” Moulton said.
California senator Kamala Harris, another 2020 candidate, instead pushed for Barr’s resignation.
“I’ll be frank: In this week’s hearing, Attorney General Barr refused to answer most of my questions -- and when he did, his answers were alarming,” Harris tweeted. “It’s time for him to resign.”
I’ll be frank: In this week’s hearing, Attorney General Barr refused to answer most of my questions -- and when he did, his answers were alarming. It’s time for him to resign. Add your name if you agree.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) May 3, 2019
In a key exchange from Barr’s appearance before the Senate judiciary committee on Wednesday, Harris asked the attorney general if Donald Trump or anyone at the White House had asked or suggested he launch an investigation against anyone. Barr refused to answer.
In an interview on Thursday, Harris said Barr was “clearly biased”.
“He is clearly reluctant to share the truth with the United States Congress. And clearly unable to perform his duties as the attorney general of the United States,” she said, while adding:
I would say he also has performed basically in a way that suggests that he’s not a professional in the way he does his work and doesn’t take his duties seriously. So I think he should resign.”
Barr has come under immense criticism for spinning the Mueller report in Trump’s favor prior to its public release last month. He has also refused to make the full report available to Congress, and suggested in a controversial 24 March letter that the investigation did not yield sufficient evidence to charge the president with obstruction of justice.
A redacted version of the Mueller report released on 18 April revealed nearly a dozen instances in which Trump or his campaign sought to obstruct justice.
Democratic leaders have accused Barr of leading a coverup to protect the president and called for an independent investigation of his actions.
“He lied to Congress. And if anybody else did that, it would be considered a crime,” House speaker Nancy Pelosi said this week.
“Nobody is above the law: not the president of the United States, and not the attorney general.”
Updated
Good morning and happy Friday everyone! Sabrina Siddiqui on the live blog as we close out the week.
The fallout continues today between Democrats in Congress and attorney general William Barr. We’ve also got details on presidential candidate Jay Inslee’s climate change plan and, one can always assume, whatever awaits us in the president’s Twitter feed...
Stay tuned!
