| | | | There's a Republican revolt happening in Congress | | Days removed from President Donald Trump's stunning deal-cutting with leading Congressional Democrats on the debt ceiling and Hurricane Harvey relief, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Office of Management and Budget head Mick Mulvaney went to Capitol Hill to ask for Republican votes for the bargain.
It went, um, poorly.
This, from CNN's Deirdre Walsh, Lauren Fox and MJ Lee, is rough stuff:
"House Republicans unleashed their fury over President Donald Trump's deal with the Democrats at Steve Mnuchin, with conservatives calling the treasury secretary's appeal to them to "vote for it for me" insulting and inappropriate....
...Multiple House Republicans emerged infuriated and dissatisfied that they addressed their concerns that the deal wasn't the right strategy to get some of the spending reforms they've been pushing."
Trump, as has been widely reported, was jubilant over the deal with Democrats or, more accurately, the headlines that his deal with Democrats produced. And, as I noted in this space on Thursday, Trump likes making deals and upsetting expectations -- both of which he got to do (bigly!) this week.
And also on Thursday, he seemed to promise there were more of those sorts of deals to come. "You are going to see a much stronger coming together," Trump said.
Which is possible! Already Trump and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer are discussing a bargain to get rid of the congressional requirement to keep raising the debt ceiling.
Here's the thing: A strategy of courting Democrats might win Trump a battle or two (like this week). But it will lose him the broader war.
Trump's biggest priorities -- repealing and replacing Obamacare, building a border wall, tax reform -- are all things where Democrats fundamentally disagree with him. No matter how many deals he makes with them, that won't change. Schumer isn't suddenly going to say: "Well, we made that deal on the debt ceiling so, hey, let's get you the money you need to build a border wall."
And, even if Schumer did say that -- and he won't! -- it wouldn't mean all that much. Why? Because Republicans control the House and the Senate. While they let this deal go through, it's hard for me to imagine that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan would simply stand aside and box-check a series of future bad deals for their side.
Republicans are mad. And they have lots of tools at their disposal to make Trump's life more difficult. That should be obvious to the President. It's not clear that it is.
-- Chris | | NEVERTHELESS SHE PERSISTED | | Rep. Don Young of Alaska was forced to apologize to Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington on Thursday after addressing her as "young lady" and saying she "doesn't know a damn thing what she's talking about" during an exchange on the House floor.
Jayapal, a Democrat, didn't let the exchange get her down. She took to Twitter to share words of wisdom.
"A message to women of color out there:stand strong. Refuse to be patronized or minimized. Let the small guys out there be intimated by you," she wrote.
She told CNN: "So often, we are discredited for being brown or black, looking too young or too old, or having strong opinions. I came to Congress by the same means as my esteemed colleagues, and it is disrespectful not only to me but to those who elected me to question my intelligence or capacity."
FYI, this isn't the first time a female lawmaker has been put down on the Hill. Lawmakers cut off Sen. Kamala Harris twice in one week in June. And Sen. Elizabeth Warren was shut down by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in February, an incident which inspired the "Nevertheless, she persisted" meme on social media. | | | Like trivia? Who doesn't?! The inaugural night of trivia -- hosted by Chris -- kicks off in Austin at the Texas Tribune Festival on Saturday, September 23, 2017. More details for the event are here. | | CHRIS' FRIDAY FUNBAG OF GOOD READS | | | Stream Neil Young's "Hitchhiker." | | "Chris should go back to the beach."
-Sen. Ted Cruz on Gov. Chris Christie | | | The comment was made in response to an interview the New Jersey governor had with CNN last week, during which he blasted Cruz's call for emergency disaster relief for Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. "I have no sympathy for this -- and I see Sen. Cruz and it's disgusting to me that he stands in a recovery center with victims standing behind him as a backdrop," Christie told "New Day" host Chris Cuomo.
REMINDER: This is the beach incident Cruz is referring to. #Beachgate. | | Former Vice President Joe Biden (a very GIF-worthy man) is considering a run for president in 2020, according to his daughter, Ashley.
When asked in an interview with Women's Wear Daily whether her father will run, Ashley said: "I hope so."
"Right now, his focus is on the (Biden) Foundation and Cancer Moonshot, as well as getting other Democrats elected. He's not there. He's taking it day by day after the loss of my dear beloved brother (Beau)," she said.
"He'll make a decision when that time comes. A lot can happen in four years and we know this as a family. If he is in good health, knock on wood, and seeing what the landscape is at the time, yeah, I think he is considering it."
A reminder: Biden launched a PAC called American Possibilities in May. He's also going on a book tour this fall.
Read more in CNN's Eric Bradner's #2020 Vision Memo here. | | Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders stopped by "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Thursday night. Here are some notable lines/moments: - On what he and President Donald Trump agree on (pt 1): "Well, let's say this: He has talked about taking on the pharmaceutical industry and lowering the very, very high cost of prescription drugs in this country, and he is right to make the point that the drug companies are ripping us off in a terrible, terrible way. So President Trump, that's what you said during the campaign, let's go forward together and do that."
- On another thing they happen to agree on: "The President said when he was a candidate, he said we need a trillion-dollar investment in our infrastructure, and that is exactly right, and I hope we can go forward."
- On Hillary Clinton's comments about him in her new book: ""Look, Secretary Clinton ran against the most unpopular candidate in the history of this country and she lost and was upset about that and I understand that. But our job now is really not to go backwards. It is to go forward. It is to create the kind of nation we know we can become. We have enormous problems facing us and I think it's a little bit silly to keep talking about 2016."
- On what Colbert should ask Clinton in her appearance on his show next week: "I think the response is we have got to think going forward. And I would like her to join us in the fight for 15, in a Medicare-for-all single-payer system, in taking on the fossil fuel industry so we transform our energy system away from fossil fuel and move to energy efficiency and sustainable energy. So in other words, we need her help to go forward. Let's not keep arguing about 2016, let's get together, take on Trump's desire to divide us. Let's go forward with a progressive agenda. Ask her if she'll do that.
For more, read CNN's Miranda Green's article. | | A new Pew Research Center poll suggests Americans' online news use is closing in on TV news use. The survey found 43% of Americans report often getting news online, which is just 7 percentage points lower than the 50% who often get news on television. "This gap between the two news platforms was 19 points in early 2016, more than twice as large," according to the report.
Also: "The decline in television news use occurs across all three types of TV news asked about in the survey – local, network and cable – but is greatest for local television news." | | | Never forget this moment -- and also 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. | | | | | |
Post a Comment