| | | | A growing Republican retirement problem | | On Monday, congressional Republicans got two pieces of bad news.
First, Michigan Rep. Dave Trott, who represents a district Donald Trump carried with less than 50% of the vote in 2016, announced he would not run for another term.
Second, Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, a respected moderate voice, acknowledged to CNN's Manu Raju that he's considering not seeking a third term in 2018.
In a vacuum, these two events could be dismissed. After all, members of Congress announce they are retiring all the time!
But we don't live in a vacuum. (Thankfully. I think.)
The Trott retirement comes in the same week that Reps. Dave Reichert (Washington) and Charlie Dent (Pennsylvania) -- both of whom, like Trott, represent swing districts, also announced they were retiring from Congress in 2018.
(I wrote about that here.)
And the Corker news comes less than 24 hours after we learned that former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is actively recruiting primary challengers to Corker as well as a handful of other Senate GOP incumbents up in 2018 that he believes have not been sufficiently loyal to Trump.
"I'm very worried about more GOP retirements -- am hearing more and more and how it's a thankless job back home and demoralizing," tweeted GOP strategist Doug Heye on Monday afternoon.
Remember: All retirements aren't created equal. Republicans calling it quits in seats that are strongly GOP by nature don't really matter much. (Sorry, Sam Johnson!) But people like Trott, Reichert and Dent represent seats that will be difficult to hold -- even in the best of political environments, which 2018 is unlikely to be.
And, it's not just the seats themselves. It's the message sent to other members when the likes of Trott, Reichert and Dent throw in the towel.
"As a member of the governing wing of the Republican Party, I've worked to instill stability, certainty and predictability in Washington. I've fought to fulfill the basic functions of government, like keeping the lights on and preventing default," Dent said in announcing his decision. "Regrettably, that has not been easy given the disruptive outside influences that profit from increased polarization and ideological rigidity that leads to dysfunction, disorder and chaos."
If the decisions by the likes of Trotter, Dent and Reichert -- and the indecision of Corker -- lead other wavering GOP members to reconsider their own 2018 plans, then the rush could be on. And that would be a huge problem for Republicans -- particularly in trying to keep their House majority.
-- Chris | | Trott is the 17th House Republican to make alternative plans for 2018. Former Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz left without delay and resigned his seat. But it's more stark than that. Of the retiring members, only one is a Democrat. The other eight (we're including Chaffetz in that group below) are Republicans. CNN's Will Mullery drew it up for you.
| | | Like trivia? Who doesn't?! The inaugural night of Point political trivia -- hosted by Chris -- kicks off in Austin at the Texas Tribune Festival on Saturday, September 23. More details for the event are here. | | CHRIS' BIGGEST AND BIGLY READS | | | If you don't know The Lone Bellow, you need to get to know The Lone Bellow. As always, NPR Music is here to help. | | IT'S MEDICARE-FOR-ALL-MANIA | | No, seriously.
Sen. Bernie Sanders will finally unveil his "Medicare-for-all" bill this week. The protracted Trumpcare fight delayed what was initially planned to be a much earlier rollout. So far, the legislation has five Democratic co-sponsors: Sens. Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse, Cory Booker and Jeff Merkley.
And while it might not seem like a big deal (this thing is DOA in a Republican-held Congress), consider that more than 60% of House Democrats are lining up behind Rep. John Conyers' companion bill. Think of it more as a public statement of shifting party principles.
So how'd we get to this weird place?
Here's what I've reported:
1) Pressure from the activist left, which is banking on health care as their go-to issue, pushed Democrats' hand...
2) ...and the heat that came with the Obamacare fight, combined with the freedom of being in the minority, is emboldening the party where it had once been so, so cautious.
CNN's Eric Bradner has more on Merkley and Booker joining the squad. | | The Pew Research Center is out with a new survey today examining how Americans interact with the news. Most notably for me, it tests a lot of popular theories and assumptions, and goes beyond the hollering about "fake news!" and all that.
One point that really stuck out to us: 50% of people polled were either "doubtful" or outright "wary" of information sources. These people are not heavily engaged, but when they are, they're suspicious. Now check out the demographic info on the right: It's a pretty comfortable match with the average Trump voter. That is, older, mainly white folks somewhere in the middle economically and in terms of education.
We strongly recommend you take a few minutes with the full survey right here. | | Former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon made a whole bunch of headlines during an interview last night on "60 Minutes" -- his first major q&a since leaving the administration. Chris managed to whittle the news down to 48(!) REVEALING LINES.
Current White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was taking questions herself on Monday, including on Bannon -- in particular, when he said Trump's decision to sack FBI chief James Comey was the worst political decision in "modern political history."
Sanders, as you might imagine, disagreed with her former colleague's assessment.
"It has been shown in the days that followed that the President was right to fire Director Comey," she said, arguing, as Jeremy Diamond and Miranda Green report, that Comey gave "false testimony" and leaked "privileged information to journalists." | | DISPATCHES FROM A GARDEN STATE COURTROOM | | CNN's Laura Jarrett is tracking the trial of Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez. Here's her report on the scene(s) inside courtroom:
"A jury in New Jersey now knows a lot about American Express membership rewards points. …
"On day three of the federal corruption trial against Sen. Bob Menendez, jurors heard a VP at American Express say that it would have taken Menendez roughly 30 years to amass the number of points Dr. Salomon Melgen used on a fancy hotel room in Paris for the New Jersey Democrat -- a fact the prosecution wants to use as evidence of a bribe.
"At this rate, however, this trial is going to take a while.
"The jury was escorted out five separate times(!), to a few audible sighs in the courtroom, as the judge lectured the lawyers on the rules of evidence, laughing at Menendez's defense attorney at one point for suggesting what the prosecution may say in closing arguments: 'You draw on things from Agatha Christie.'
"But a former Hill staffer for the senator flatly squashed any claims of wrongdoing at one point – saying Menendez never asked him to do anything illegal." | | A MOMENT OF SILENCE IN NEW YORK | |  | President Trump and first lady Melania Trump paid their respects today -- the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks -- on the White House South Lawn. | | | Don't forget to tell everyone you know to subscribe. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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