MORE UNEASE IN THE GOVERNMENT … THE CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE is the in-house policy analysis arm of Capitol Hill. Its employees are mostly out of sight, but they're incredibly important to the institution. They write detailed legislative analyses at the request of any member of Congress. They answer to Congress, which sets their budget. A FEW CRS EMPLOYEES reached out to us and said they are being forced to brief members of Congress IN PERSON. CRS works for members of Congress, so they do not feel like they can push back -- and are being told not to. On occasion, lawmakers take their masks off. "A MEMBER CALLS US, and it has to be on their terms," one analyst told us. THERE'S BIPARTISANSHIP ON AT LEAST ONE THING: Republicans and Democrats say PELOSI and Senate Majority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL should institute testing in the Capitol -- now. -- A HOUSE DEMOCRAT, who would rather not incur PELOSI'S wrath: "Ideally, I should be able to go to work with Republican colleagues who are responsible enough to wear a mask. I don't. The only way Congress can help Americans who need relief is for the body to be free from Covid. Until the Republicans take this seriously, members should be tested." -- MEADOWS, when asked if the TRUMP administration is still willing to send rapid testing equipment to Capitol Hill: "Yes, I think we should. I think we ought to have testing for members of Congress and their staff and reporters, if they're going to be in close proximity. At the same time, that's a decision for Speaker Pelosi and Leader McConnell to make, but I do think … "If you're looking at the continuity of government that most Americans would understand why perhaps you would test members of Congress and their staff on a more regular basis than others who could go home and self-quarantine and not have to worry." THE HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP told us they have no update on whether they would test members of Congress. THE WHITE HOUSE sent this quote along from comms director ALYSSA FARAH, in response to our reporting about some in the administration not wearing masks and encouraging not wearing masks: "President Trump encourages all Americans, including members of his administration, to wear masks, socially distance, and wash their hands frequently." (USTR ROBERT LIGHTHIZER does not wear a mask in the office, per our sources.) WILD WAPO STORY … SHANE HARRIS: "DHS compiled 'intelligence reports' on journalists who published leaked documents": "The Department of Homeland Security has compiled 'intelligence reports' about the work of American journalists covering protests in Portland, Ore., in what current and former officials called an alarming use of a government system meant to share information about suspected terrorists and violent actors. "Over the past week, the department's Office of Intelligence and Analysis has disseminated three Open Source Intelligence Reports to federal law enforcement agencies and others, summarizing tweets written by two journalists — a reporter for the New York Times and the editor in chief of the blog Lawfare — and noting they had published leaked, unclassified documents about DHS operations in Portland. The intelligence reports, obtained by The Washington Post, include written descriptions and images of the tweets and the number of times they had been liked or retweeted by others. "After The Post published a story online Thursday evening detailing the department's practices, the acting homeland security secretary, Chad Wolf, ordered the intelligence office to stop collecting information on journalists and announced an investigation into the matter." KANSAS: SOME PEOPLE WITHOUT BRAINS DO AN AWFUL LOT OF TALKING … -- CNN'S ALEX ROGERS and MANU RAJU: "Trump tells associates on Air Force One he will not intervene in Kansas' U.S. Senate GOP primary": "President Donald Trump indicated to associates during a flight on Air Force One on Wednesday that he would not intervene in the US Senate Republican primary in Kansas despite the fears among top Republicans that the state could elect a nominee who will lose the seat and thus the Senate, according to three sources with knowledge of the conversation. "While the GOP establishment has long been alarmed by the prospect that conservative firebrand Kris Kobach could win the primary on Tuesday only to lose the general election in November, Trump has so far not endorsed its favored candidate, Republican Rep. Roger Marshall. Trump has spoken with both Marshall and Kobach over the past several months but has never seemed highly motivated to make an endorsement, even when he's pushed by his close allies, according to a White House official." -- NYT'S JONATHAN MARTIN and KATIE GLUECK: "Republicans and White House at Odds Over Kansas Senate Race": "As the Kansas Senate primary barrels to a close, tensions are rising between Senate Republicans and the White House over the potential nomination of Kris Kobach, who party officials fear would jeopardize the seat and further imperil their Senate majority. "Senator Mitch McConnell is worried that Mr. Kobach, the controversial former Kansas secretary of state who lost the 2018 governor's race, may win the nomination in Tuesday's primary, only to lose the seat in November — and he is frustrated that President Trump is not intervening in the race, according to multiple G.O.P. officials. … "'We have eight months of data that says the majority is gone if Kris Kobach is the nominee,' said Josh Holmes, a top lieutenant to Mr. McConnell. 'It's that simple.'" WAPO'S TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA and JOSH DAWSEY: "Trump campaign temporarily pauses ad spending to review its messaging": "President Trump's campaign has temporarily paused its television advertising with less than 100 days to go before the election, a move that comes amid a broader shake-up in his faltering bid for a second term. "Two weeks after Trump demoted former campaign manager Brad Parscale and replaced him with Bill Stepien, the reelection effort is reviewing its spending, messaging and strategy in an attempt to boost the president's fortunes. Polls have shown Trump trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, as voters give the president low marks for his handling of the coronavirus. "'With the leadership change in the campaign, there's understandably a review and fine-tuning of the campaign's strategy,' said a senior campaign official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. 'We'll be back on the air shortly, even more forcefully exposing Joe Biden as a puppet of the radical left wing.'" BIG PICTURE … ALEX BURNS with a News Analysis on A1 of the NYT: "Trump Attacks an Election He Is at Risk of Losing": " But when the moment came on Thursday, with Mr. Trump suggesting for the first time that the election could be delayed, his proposal appeared as impotent as it was predictable — less a stunning assertion of his authority than yet another lament that his political prospects have dimmed amid a global public-health crisis. Indeed, his comments on Twitter came shortly after the Commerce Department reported that American economic output contracted last quarter at the fastest rate in recorded history, underscoring one of Mr. Trump's most severe vulnerabilities as he pursues a second term. "Far from a strongman, Mr. Trump has lately become a heckler in his own government, promoting medical conspiracy theories on social media, playing no constructive role in either the management of the coronavirus pandemic or the negotiation of an economic rescue plan in Congress -- and complaining endlessly about the unfairness of it all." DAVID SIDERS: "'Rigged election' goes from Trump complaint to campaign strategy": "Donald Trump's suggestion that he might try to delay the election — or might not accept the result — is rapidly coming to the forefront of the presidential campaign, foreshadowing a final stretch roiled not only by the coronavirus and the economy, but by clashes over the nation's most fundamental democratic norms. "Though Trump has no authority to move the election — an idea he floated Thursday — Democrats are already bracing for Republican challenges to absentee ballots and at vote counting on Election Day. They have good cause to be prepared: the president has repeatedly raised the prospect of a 'rigged election' and recently declined to say if he'll accept the results. "Trump's rhetoric points increasingly to the possibility that he will dispute the outcome in a year marked by primary election administration meltdowns — a prospect that is heightened by his absolute control of state and national party machinery and an attorney general who has amplified Trump's unsubstantiated claims about mail-in voting fraud." POLITICO -- MCCONNELL told Gray TV's GRETA VAN SUSTEREN: "I guarantee you the election will be Nov. 3 of 2020." -- "Trump says delay, but DeSantis says Florida is 'ready to go' for elections," by Matt Dixon in Tallahassee -- WSJ ED BOARD: "This is not to suggest that the November election will be 'rigged,' as Mr. Trump asserts. If he believes that, he should reconsider his participation and let someone run who isn't looking for an excuse to blame for defeat. … "Delaying the elections during the pandemic would only put off a potential fiasco. But with time short, the responsible course is for governors and members of both parties to ensure deadlines for mail-in ballots are early enough so that the counting stops and the results are clear on Election Day." DEM INFIGHTING RESURFACES -- "Biden, Bernie forces clash during convention meeting," by Holly Otterbein: "A Democratic Party meeting that leaders hoped would project unity weeks ahead of the national convention instead broke out into a behind-the-scenes feud over corporate money in politics. At a virtual gathering of a key committee for the National Democratic Convention, Bernie Sanders-allied members said Joe Biden appointees called them 'children' and made other rude comments in a breakout room where they were talking privately. "The argument served as a reminder of the tensions that are still simmering below the surface between moderate and progressives as the party seeks a united front against President Donald Trump. It also shows the limited power of Biden and Sanders, whose teams worked closely to hash out a deal on another plan under consideration by the committee with the goal of showing harmony. "'It was not only disturbing, but disrespectful,' said Nina Turner, Sanders' former campaign co-chair who served on the committee. 'Disgusting, disturbing, unacceptable. And it's no way to restore the faith of the people who already suspect the Democratic Party is unfair.'" SARAH FERRIS: "Ethics Committee reprimands Schweikert for slew of violations" | 
No comments:
Post a Comment