MORNING MESSAGE
#ResistTrumpTuesdays: Protect Our Protections on Valentine’s Day
The
next congressional recess will run from February 18 to the 26. Senators and
representatives typically use that time away from Washington, D.C. to hold local
“town hall” meetings with their constituents. But this year, many Republicans
will be dodging this responsibility because they don’t want to hear what We the
People have to say ... Because of this the #ResistTrumpTuesdays movement has a
special Valentine’s Day action planned. People are asked to visit a local office
of your senators and representative with a clear demand: “Let’s Make a Date!
Host a Town Hall!“
Does Puzder Have The Votes?
“Labor
secretary nominee Andrew Puzder in jeopardy” reports CNN: “Four Republican
senators have told GOP leadership they are withholding support for President
Donald Trump’s choice for labor secretary … Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa
Murkowski of Alaska, Tim Scott of South Carolina and Johnny Isakson of Georgia …
If at least two of the four reluctant Republicans cannot be swayed, McConnell
could face the unwelcome task of advising the White House to pull the nomination
… [But] the leader viewed this as a test of party unity and his leadership…”
Mnuchin
confirmed. NYT: “By a vote of 53 to 47, the Senate confirmed Mr. Mnuchin …
He will be under pressure to help finalize the Trump administration’s tax plan,
accelerate the rollback regulations and raise the government’s borrowing limit …
Just one Democrat, Senator of Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, broke with his
party…”
GOP Divided on ACA
“Conservatives
fret GOP is blowing Obamacare repeal” reports Politico: “The House Freedom
Caucus and a number of Republican Study Committee members this week will urge
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and his lieutenants to forego their plan to add
replacement provisions to a repeal bill, dubbed ‘repeal-plus.’ Instead, they
want to approve the same standalone repeal bill that Congress sent to President
Barack Obama in 2016. … Conservatives say they’re not necessarily opposed to all
of leaderships’ replacement provisions but worry that adding them to the
reconciliation bill will drag the process out for weeks and months … It’s
unclear, however, if they would vote against a leadership-sponsored package that
adds replacement provisions to the repeal bill.”
GOP
rattled by town halls. Bloomberg: “It reached the point where House
Republicans were urged by leaders during a closed-door session in Washington
last week to consider arranging for more security at their events … [Rep. Gus
Bilirakis] said he had no doubts about how genuine the emotions were at his
meeting, which grew tense at times. ‘Most of these people are my constituents,’
he said. ‘I don’t have any question that they are authentic.'”
Dems Divided on Gorsuch
Democrats
yet to decide on Gorsuch strategy. NYT: “The nomination has particularly
squeezed red-state Democratic senators, positioning them squarely between the
activist fury of the left and advertising dollars on the right, where
conservative groups are hitting the airwaves to apply pressure … those in the
middle … are seeking to negotiate the seething anger of liberal voters and an
instinct for comity among lawmakers who have spent years lamenting what they
have viewed as Republican bulldozing of Senate norms.”
Sanders
roils Democratic caucus. The Hill: “The Senate minority leader convened a
meeting last month between Sanders … and a group of Democrats Sanders criticized
for voting against an amendment he co-wrote to lower the cost of prescription
drugs … Democratic sources say Schumer convened the meeting not only to salve
rankled feelings but also to send a message to the Vermont senator: Play nice
with others.”
More Trouble For Travel Ban
District
judge deems travel ban unconstitutional. AP: “A federal judge Monday granted
a preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from implementing its
travel ban in Virginia … The ruling is significant from a legal standpoint
because U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema found that an unconstitutional
religious bias is at the heart of the travel ban, and therefore violates First
Amendment prohibitions on favoring one religion over another…”
WH
undecided on legal strategy. USA Today: “If the appeals court decides
against a rehearing, the government could appeal to the Supreme Court, continue
the case before the three-judge panel, return to Robart’s district court in
Seattle, or rewrite the executive order in an effort to make it easier to uphold
in court. At this point, all those options remain on the table.”
Mother
Jones reports on the legal clinics fighting the travel ban: “For organizers
and civil rights groups, the airport legal clinics have helped lay the
groundwork for future rapid-response legal efforts, showing how quickly
volunteers can show up and the willingness among groups to share information and
resources. Now organizers are likely to shift toward helping undocumented
immigrants by providing free legal services and setting up know-your-rights
trainings that can be deployed quickly.”
“Trump
just getting started with immigration raids” reports Politico: “Trump has
signaled he has every intention of using that authority to carry out his
campaign pledge to deport millions of foreigners from the United States.
Immigration advocates say the stepped-up enforcement amounts to a new
deportation dragnet that’s ensnaring otherwise law-abiding immigrants …
immigration advocates say the Trump administration has the capacity to go far
beyond what President Barack Obama — who deported more than 2 million
undocumented immigrants during his tenure — ever did.”
Breakfast Sides
Trump
previews NAFTA strategy during Trudeau visit. Roll Call: “Trump … said he
intends to make only small changes to provisions in the North American Free
Trade Agreement that focus on U.S.-Canadian trade. But, as he often does, the
new U.S. president had tougher words for Mexican leaders.”
“Dems
recruit Ivanka Trump on family leave” reports The Hill: “…Rep. Carolyn
Maloney (D-N.Y.), a longtime sponsor of paid family leave legislation … said
Monday that she’s already recruiting Ivanka Trump’s help to get it passed …
Maloney on Monday said she’s open to compromise to iron out the differences
between her plan and Trump’s.”
No
restraining order for Dakota Access Pipeline. The Hill: “A federal judge on
Monday denied a request to block construction … ruling that construction of the
pipeline doesn’t threaten the water. [He] vowed to rule [later] on the tribe’s
religious challenge to the pipeline before oil runs through it. He set a hearing
on the matter for later this month.”
Boeing
workers in SC hold union vote. NYT: “‘If Boeing loses, it removes the
ability to hold nonunion Charleston over the heads of the union in Seattle, to
beat up that union for more concessions in the future,’ said Scott Hamilton, the
managing director of Leeham Company, an aviation analysis firm … The stakes
appear even higher amid reports that President Trump will visit the South
Carolina plant on Friday.”
UK
presses Trump to keep Paris climate deal. Bloomberg: “The U.K. government is
… touting the economic benefits of clean energy while steering clear of the
debate about climate science … Trump may be more inclined to listen to the U.K.
over the European Union because he has backed the U.K.’s decision to leave the
European Union.”
Progressive
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