CUE THE MOOD MUSIC: WASHINGTON SUCKS -- "Amid national crisis on police brutality and racism, Congress flails," by John Bresnahan, Sarah Ferris, Heather Caygle and Marianne LeVine: "As the United States faces its biggest crisis over civil rights in decades, Congress is poised to do nothing. Again. "What could have been a searing, soul-searching moment where America's political leaders helped establish a new national accord on race and the role of police in society has instead devolved into a frenzy of political posturing, campaign sloganeering and ugly partisan fights. "The House on Thursday passed a sweeping police reform bill that would ban chokeholds, end the use of 'no-knock' warrants, create a national registry for officers accused of misconduct, and make it easier to prosecute officers. Yet Democrats picked up only a few GOP votes, guaranteeing the proposal has no chance of moving in the Senate. "And the Senate can't even agree to begin debate on a police reform bill, with Democrats blocking efforts to take up a proposal drafted by Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), one of only two Black Republicans on Capitol Hill. 'It's really unfortunate,' Scott said. 'You'd like to think that we're all willing to get together on something as consequential as police reform in a moment like this.'" POLITICO THE WHITE HOUSE spent much of Thursday on Capitol Hill, trying to convince Republicans to vote against the House Dem bill. Three Republicans gave the administration the middle finger: Reps. Will Hurd (Texas), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and Fred Upton (Mich.). There was healthy division inside the White House about the decision to weigh in against the Dem bill -- and this is exactly why. It shows the limits of the administration's power. BEHIND THE SCENES -- "Police Groups Wield Strong Influence in Congress, Resisting the Strictest Reforms," by NYT's Luke Broadwater and Catie Edmondson: "As Americans were clamoring in the streets last week to defund the police and as Democrats in Congress were drafting legislation to make it easier to track and prosecute officer misconduct, Larry Cosme, a leader of the police lobby, was at the White House making a direct appeal to some of President Trump's top advisers against some of the most consequential reforms. "At a meeting in the State Dining Room that included Mr. Trump, Attorney General William P. Barr and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, Mr. Cosme and about two dozen others listened as families of victims of police violence spoke emotionally of the need for a different approach, and pledged that they were ready to make some changes. "But afterward, Mr. Cosme, the president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, pulled aside Mr. Scott, who was putting the finishing touches on Republicans' policing bill, and Mr. Barr to push back against two of the most aggressive ideas under consideration: peeling back qualified immunity, the legal doctrine that shields police officers from lawsuits, and building a national database of civilian complaints against them. "He left the meeting unworried. 'Attorney General Barr assured us it wouldn't go that far,' Mr. Cosme recalled." NYT RYAN LIZZA and LAURA BARRÓN-LÓPEZ: "Why Joe Biden is Keeping the Black Lives Matter Movement at Arm's Length" CORONAVIRUS RAGING … -- BIG PICTURE … BURGESS EVERETT: "Coronavirus spike rattles Senate Republicans": "As coronavirus cases spike across the country, President Donald Trump and his top officials say everything is mostly under control. But Senate Republicans are pressing them to show a little urgency. "The latest outbreaks are also reshaping the GOP's political and legislative strategy, with Republicans planning to focus more on health care in the next coronavirus relief bill. And they're flashing rare frustration at the Trump administration for its decision to wind down federally supported testing sites. "'Frankly I didn't really understand what they were thinking . … At a time cases are spiking, we're gonna pull back?' said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who wrote a letter to the administration along with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) urging them to change course. He predicted a reversal: 'I'd be surprised if there's a good reason not to continue it.' "Meanwhile Trump is still downplaying the virus' impact, questioning the value of testing and ridiculing the idea of wearing a mask despite holding large-scale campaign rallies. While touring an auto plant last month in Michigan, Trump rejected using a mask, saying it was 'not necessary.' But mask-wearing has become virtually ubiquitous among GOP senators and some are now urging Trump to set an example by wearing a face covering, which medical experts say helps slow the spread of the virus. "'We're going to be required to wear it. … I think he should be leading that effort, yeah,' said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). 'Should he be wearing a mask? In certain situations, yes.'" -- NYT: "Texas Pauses Reopening as Virus Cases Soar Across the South and West," by Manny Fernandez in Houston and Sarah Mervosh in Pittsburgh: "Just 55 days after reopening Texas restaurants and other businesses, Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday hit the pause button, stopping additional phases of the state's reopening as new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations soared and as the governor struggled to pull off the seemingly impossible task of keeping both the state open and the virus under control. "The announcement by Mr. Abbott — which allows the many shopping malls, restaurants, bars, gyms and other businesses already open to continue operating — was an abrupt turnaround and came as a growing number of states paused reopenings amid rising case counts. "The latest developments call into question any suggestion that the worst of the pandemic has passed in the United States, as rising outbreaks in the South and the West threaten to upend months of social distancing meant to help keep the virus at bay. "The nation recorded a new high point with 36,975 new cases on Wednesday, nearly two months after many states began to reopen with the hope of salvaging the economy and the livelihoods of millions of Americans. Alabama, Missouri, Montana and Utah all hit new daily case records on Thursday." -- BIDEN told KDKA in Pittsburgh he would force Americans to wear masks. -- THIS SEEMS BAD … WAPO: "CDC chief says coronavirus cases may be 10 times higher than reported," by Lena Sun and Joel Achenbach: "The number of people in the United States who have been infected with the coronavirus is likely to be 10 times as high as the 2.4 million confirmed cases, based on antibody tests, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. CDC Director Robert Redfield's estimate, shared with reporters in a conference call, indicates that at least 24 million Americans have been infected so far." -- TOTAL reported cases of coronavirus in the U.S.: 2.37 million; death toll: 121,809. MEANWHILE -- "Trump sidesteps grim coronavirus surge to sell a happier message," by Nancy Cook: "Top political officials in Florida, Arizona, Texas and numerous other states are grappling with a rapid surge in coronavirus cases, facing the threat of an out-of-control outbreak that washes over their citizens and overwhelms their health care systems. "Top political officials in the White House say it's business as usual from their perspective. President Donald Trump and his top aides sought Thursday to minimize the threat of the coronavirus to the public's health and the U.S. economy despite alarms blaring across two dozen states — including many overseen by Trump-friendly leaders. "Aides insisted there would be no change in White House strategy to fight the pandemic, and no additional money or new resources given to states dealing with spikes in cases." POLITICO WHO WOULD'VE THUNK … BLOOMBERG: "Lobbyist Jack Abramoff Charged in Crypto-Currency Case, U.S. Says," by Joel Rosenblatt: "Jack Abramoff, the onetime Washington insider who went to prison in a lobbying scandal, was charged by the U.S. with illegally lobbying for a fraudulent cryptocurrency project. "Abramoff has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and violating the Lobbying Disclosure Act and faces as long as five years in prison, according to a court filing and U.S. Attorney David Anderson in San Francisco. … "The two men claimed the security was an improvement on the original Bitcoin because it had encoded security features, including to prevent money laundering, according to the SEC's complaint against Abramoff. They raised at least $5.6 million from about 2,400 investors, mostly in the U.S., from August 2017 through December 2018, the SEC said. The agency separately sued Andrade and NAC. … "In June 2017, Abramoff arranged through a person who turned out to an undercover FBI agent to lobby a member of Congress for a legislative measure, but decided not to register as a lobbyist with the Secretary of State and House of Representatives out of concern it would have a negative impact on his client, according to a plea agreement filed in court. Abramoff agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of the plea." INTERESTING 2020 PLAY -- "Trump administration asks Supreme Court to overturn Obamacare," by Susannah Luthi: "The Trump administration on Thursday night urged the Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare, pushing forward with its attack on the health care law as millions of newly jobless Americans may come to depend on its coverage. "The Justice Department in a new legal brief argues Obamacare in its entirety became invalid when the previous Republican-led Congress axed the unpopular individual mandate penalty for uninsured people. The filing comes weeks after President Donald Trump confirmed his administration would continue to press for Obamacare's elimination, ignoring warnings from top aides about the risk of voter backlash in November. "'No further analysis is necessary; once the individual mandate and the guaranteed-issue and community-rating provisions are invalidated, the remainder of the ACA cannot survive,' the Justice Department stated." The government's filing -- DEMOCRATS would love nothing more than to run against Republicans wanting to cut Americans' health care benefits in the 2020 election. WaPo's Matt Viser and Amy Goldstein on how Biden is already on the attack over Obamacare | 
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