MORNING MESSAGE
Join The Resistance: Resistance Recess Starts This Weekend
Members
of Congress are leaving Washington and heading home for their “spring break”
recess from April 7 to 23. Many of them will be holding town halls, where you
and others can ask questions, express your views and otherwise do your job of
holding your representatives and senators accountable face-to-face. Elected
officials too chicken to hold town halls still have offices you can visit – you
and maybe a few hundred of your best friends, that is ... MoveOn.org, People’s
Action and other organizations are calling this recess period, when members of
Congress come home from April 7 to 23, the Resistance Recess...
Trump Bombs Syria
NBC
asks what’s next: “The Trump team has taken pains to emphasize that the move
was a ‘proportionate’ response to the chemical attack, but what comes next? And
if the goal is ending the bloodshed in Syria, how will Trump finish the
job?”
Congressional
reaction mixed. Politico: “Congressional leaders in both parties largely
signaled their support … libertarian-minded Republicans like Sens. Mike Lee of
Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky blasted Trump’s decision to launch strikes
without first getting approval by Congress … They were joined by liberal
Democrats, including Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Rep. Ted Lieu of California
… A slew of other Republicans who praised Trump — including Don Young of Alaska,
Martha Roby of Alabama, Roger Williams of Texas — opposed or leaned heavily
against Obama’s request to authorize the use of force in Syria…”
The
Nation’s John Nichols criticizes the bypassing of Congress: “[Trump’s]
reference to a ‘vital national security interest’ was an attempt to justify the
presidential action. But Congresswoman Barbara Lee argued Thursday night that
‘this is an act of war. Congress needs to come back into session and hold a
debate. Anything less is an abdication of our responsibility. … In 2001, when
she opposed George W. Bush’s AUMF, millions of Americans said ‘Barbara Lee
Speaks for Me.’ She also spoke for the Constitution. And she is still doing
so.”
Gorsuch Confirmation Today
Gorsuch
to be confirmed today. Politico: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
moved to change the Senate rules after Democrats blocked Gorsuch’s nomination
minutes before, 55-45. All 52 Republicans then supported the vote to go nuclear
… After the vote, McConnell was seen high-fiving Secretary for the Majority
Laura Dove …”
Bloomberg
on the implications for the Court: ” It could lead to new curbs on union
powers and worker lawsuits while bolstering the rights of religious groups. It
could also fuel the perception that the court is largely a tool of the
politicians in Congress and the White House.”
The
Nation’s Ari Berman lambastes GOP for “thwarting the will of the people”:
“The pattern is clear—when Republicans don’t like the legislative rules or an
outcome of an election, they change the rules or try to nullify the
election.”
Trump Meets With China
“China’s
Xi urges trade cooperation in first meeting with Trump” reports Reuters:
“‘We have a thousand reasons to get China-U.S. relations right, and not one
reason to spoil the China-U.S. relationship,’ Xi told Trump … ‘I don’t expect a
grand bargain on trade. I think what you are going to see is that the president
makes very clear to Xi and publicly what we expect on trade,’ a U.S. official
told Reuters…”
“Is
Trump backing down on China?” asks Politico: “…his campaign promise to label
the Asian economic powerhouse a currency manipulator hasn’t materialized.
Instead, Trump has been taking a conciliatory tone … Democrats and business
interests are also pressing Trump to talk tough with Xi on issues such as
currency manipulation, industrial espionage, and China’s excess production of
aluminum and steel…”
Breakfast Sides
Enviros
try to reach swing state Trump voters. The Hill: “‘It’s really about
appealing to most voters, including people who voted for Trump who are nominally
Democrats or have voted for President Obama before, or are Republicans who are
not hard-line right-wing,’ said David Goldston, director of government affairs
at National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) … The NRDC, Environmental Defense
Fund and other groups are running advertisements, organizing protests and
lobbying lawmakers to come out in opposition to the administration’s ideas … The
public relations effort puts iconic water bodies important to the identities of
Rust Belt states at the forefront rather than broader issues such as global
climate change.”
25-year
EPA staffer pens blistering resignation letter to Administrator Scott
Pruitt: “I assume you are aware of the current low morale of EPA career
staff … This is the first time I remember staff openly dismissing and mocking
the environmental policies of an Administration and by extension you … The
message we are hearing is that this Administration is working to dismantle EPA
and its staff as quickly as possible. I have highlighted several areas below
which are emblematic of why morale at EPA is the lowest since I started in
1987…”
Health
care further strains GOP. Politico: “White House officials are nevertheless
bearing down on Ryan to move a bill soon, even suggesting during a Wednesday
evening meeting that he keep lawmakers in town until a deal is struck. GOP
leaders, however, say the legislation isn’t ready and lawmakers need to cool
down before they try again to pass again … administration aides are under
intense pressure to help the House deliver on one of Trump’s top campaign
promises — and many are fretting that their jobs will be in jeopardy if it
doesn’t happen.”
Justice
Department has “grave concerns” about Baltimore police reform agreement.
Baltimore Sun: “John Gore, deputy assistant attorney general in the federal
agency’s Civil Rights Division, said officials there are no longer sure the
consent decree — reached in the waning days of the Obama administration —
supports public safety, citing recent increases in city crime. He asked U.S.
District Judge James K. Bredar to ‘hold off’ on signing the decree for at least
30 days so officials of the new Trump administration could ‘analyze it and
re-engage with the city if necessary.’ … The Justice Department’s request came
at a hearing where, one after another, Baltimore residents, advocates and
community organizers stood before Bredar and asked him to approve the deal
without delay.”
Do
Trump and Warren agree on Glass-Steagall? NYT: “…Gary D. Cohn, Mr. Trump’s
chief economic adviser, said the administration was considering a proposal that
would require separating retail banking from investment banking and trading …
[Sen. Elizabeth Warren] seized on the news … to reintroduce … the 21st-century
Glass-Steagall Act … Still, it is unclear whether a return to Glass-Steagall is
politically feasible.”
Sen.
Bernie Sanders and DNC Chair Tom Perez will go on tour. CNN: “The tour will
begin April 17 and last roughly one week. The exact locations are still being
nailed down, but the tour is expected to begin in Maine and is also likely to
include stops in Florida, Arizona, Kentucky, Nevada, Nebraska and Utah.”
OMB
director’s claim of Social Security waste gets three “Pinocchios” from the
W. Post Fact Checker
Progressive
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