May 10, 2019 | by Chris Cillizza and Brenna Williams

None of this will end well

Here's a way to think about the current state of affairs in political Washington: Two cars are speeding toward each other. They started a mile from each other at the start of the week. Now they are 100 feet from one another. And both drivers just keep pushing down on the gas pedal.

Whether you choose to use the phrase "constitutional crisis" to describe the current state of affairs or not, it's quite clear that we are in the midst of a historic fight over the system of checks and balances that have long governed how the legislative, executive and judicial branches interact with one another.

Consider:

The House Judiciary Committee voted this week to hold Attorney General Bill Barr in contempt for his refusal to turn over the full, unredacted Mueller report.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) on Friday issued subpoenas in order to get President Donald Trump's past tax returns.
The White House barred former counsel Don McGahn from complying with a subpoena to testify on Capitol Hill.
Trump invoked executive privilege over the entire Mueller report
The Senate Intelligence Committee subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr.

Everywhere you looked, there was a battle between the White House and Democrats (and even Republicans!) in Congress.

Trump and his White House have made the calculation that total resistance to Democratic requests for oversight is their best hope of slow-walking any investigations and shoring up the President's political base in advance of 2020.

Congressional Democrats, meanwhile, view Trump's resistance as an existential threat to the separation of powers and the co-equal status of the legislative branch. (Plus, fighting with Trump is just what their base wants, too.)

No one really knows how the various legal proceedings occasioned by this series of standoffs will end. And there's no guarantee that one side wins all the legal fights. We may face a split decision of sorts.

But here's what is certain: None of this is good or healthy for our body politic. No matter the result of this game of chicken, one side -- and maybe both sides! -- will feel hard done and, as a result, will paint the results as either biased or something short of definitive. Which, in turn, will further erode people's confidence in our system of government and the people they have elected to represent them.

The Point: This sort of showdown produces lots of losers and very few winners. None of what is happening right now in Washington will end well. None of it.

-- Chris

Below, the week that was, in 30 headlines.

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"He didn't ask anyone to have sex with him."

-- President Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who was "shocked" when Joe Biden's psychical interactions with women got attention

TAXMAN HE IS NOT

How Trump avoided taxes for so many years

The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump didn't pay personal taxes for eight years between 1985-1994. How'd he get away with that?

How have you gotten away with not subscribing to The Point on YouTube?

CHRIS' GOOD READS

Michael Kruse on 'Beto's long history of failing upward'

Donald Trump's 2020 money machine looks nothing like the 2016 version

Is this the constitutional crisis Washington has been bracing for, asks Susan Glasser

The White House is daring Democrats to impeach Trump

Was Shakespeare a woman?

The early-season collapse of the Washington Nationals, examined

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

Lowland Hum is a husband and wife duo out of Charlottesville, Virginia. Their new one is called "Glyphonic."

GATE 35X STRIKES AGAIN

I used to think that Reagan National Airport's dreaded gate 35X was assigned that number because you reconsider your entire trip at least 35 times once you've learned it's your departure point. I also thought maybe it inspired Jean-Ralphio's tagline on "Parks and Rec."

Now I'm starting to think that it's just a weird limbo created to remind us that political animals are people, too. As CNN's MJ Lee reminds us, it's where Robert Mueller and Donald Trump Jr. were spotted waiting for their flights last summer.

It's also a place that Sen. Elizabeth Warren got to eat pizza, face a flight delay and meet some fans (and also at least one not-fan) on Thursday night. Read MJ's whole recap.

LAUREN'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL SCHEDULER

Coming this week: Commencement address season continues, Bill Weld returns to the stump in New Hampshire and Amy Klobuchar heads to Puerto Rico.

Friday, May 10
Cory Booker: Delivers a commencement address to South Carolina State University
John Hickenlooper: Begins a two-day swing in Iowa
Elizabeth Warren: Holds a community conversation in Kermit, West Virginia

Saturday, May 11
Kirsten Gillibrand: Delivers the commencement speech at New England College in New Hampshire, closing out a two-day stop in the state
Pete Buttigieg: Is in Las Vegas to keynote a Human Rights Commission dinner event at Caesars Palace
John Delaney: Wraps up three days of meet and greets in New Hampshire
Cory Booker: Opens a campaign office in Orangeburg, South Carolina
Amy Klobuchar: Is headed to Puerto Rico to meet with elected officials about ongoing natural disaster recovery efforts, visit a local school and discuss investments in infrastructure
Elizabeth Warren: Makes a three-stop swing through Ohio
Bill Weld: Will campaign in western New Hampshire before a town hall in Vermont

Sunday, May 12
Cory Booker: Gives the commencement speech at Southern New Hampshire University in the middle of a three-day tour through New Hampshire
John Hickenlooper: Finishes up a two-day swing through Iowa

Monday, May 13
Cory Booker: Participates a campaign conversation with Rep. Annie Kuster in Concord, New Hampshire

Tuesday, May 14
Andrew Yang: Holds a rally in New York

Wednesday, May 15
Kamala Harris: Returns to New Hampshire for a town hall in Nashua
Jay Inslee: Tours Davenport, Iowa, to meet with residents affected by recent devastating floods

WHAT A RELIEF(?)

Sometimes the House works on Fridays. Who knew?

The House passed a multibillion-dollar disaster relief bill earlier today. The thing about bills, however, is that both chambers have to sign on. Enter: negotiation, probably the thing Congress is worst at doing.

You see, the White House, the Democrat-controlled House and the Republican-controlled Senate can't come to an agreement on assistance to Puerto Rico.

Democrats are reminding everyone that PR is, in fact, a territory of these great United States. Republicans -- particularly President Trump -- don't think the island has managed its money well in the past.

An assistance bill would address disasters experienced across the country, including recent flooding in the Midwest. So it's in a lot of people's interest that the government figures it out.

Clare Foran and Phil Mattingly have all the back-and-forth.

YOUR DAILY GIF

From Brenna: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren gets really jazzed talking about how she wanted to be a teacher when she was a kid. Share The Point with your favorite teacher!"

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. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski. Follow Chris and Lauren on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Point

unsubscribe from this list

update subscription preferences

Copyright © 2019 Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A WarnerMedia Company. All Rights Reserved., All rights reserved.
You are receiving this message because you subscribed to CNN's The Point with Chris Cillizza newsletter.

Our mailing address is:

One CNN Center

Atlanta, GA 30303

Add us to your address book

Sign up to get updates on your favorite CNN Original Series, special CNN news coverage and other newsletters.

News From All The World Wide

Header Ads

The Point: None of this will end well