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Daily Dispatch
January 16, 2019
State of the Union is … a Shut Show:
The State of the Union address does not just happen. Each year, the Constitution requires the Speaker of the House to invite the President, in writing, to the Capitol to deliver the speech. This year, current Speaker Pelosi, issued a non-invitation invitation: open the government or no speech. We know how much Trump loves the spotlight, so denying him his primetime slot might be a motivator…
Excerpt from Pelosi’s letter:
“Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government re-opens this week, I suggest we work together to determine another suitable date after government has re-opened for this address or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to the Congress on January 29.”
Meanwhile, a bipartisan “gang” of Senators is hoping to persuade Trump to reopen the government, meeting with him at the White House this morning. But according to Politico: “A bipartisan group of senators is trying to set up a gang to end the government shutdown. But Senate leaders might as well be an anti-gang task force.”
And 22 House and Senate members from Texas join the Texas Governor in a letter asking Trump not to use Hurricane Harvey money to fund his border wall.
Barr Room Brawl:
Highlights from former-and-aspiring AG William Barr’s confirmation hearing yesterday:
Cory Booker got Barr to commit to studying racial disparities in the justice system.
Barr backs border wall, government shutdown, and crackdown on “sanctuary cities”:
WOW - Barr backs Trump on shutdown, says "I would like to see a deal reached whereby Congress recognizes that it's imperative to have border security, & that part of that border security is a barriers."@amyklobuchar pushes back, points out that Dems do support border security pic.twitter.com/5bd8G8tUBA
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 15, 2019
BARR backs Trump's wall: "I feel it is a critical part of border security that we need to have barriers on the border. We need a barrier system on the border to get control... part of that is illegal immigration but a big part of it is preventing the influx of drugs." pic.twitter.com/1vJ950hfXM
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 15, 2019
From the Daily Beast: “Attorney General Nominee William Barr on Gitmo ‘HIV Prison Camp’: We Were in a ‘Catch-22’”
More on Barr’s immigration legacy during his first go-round as AG.
Here’s all 7 hours of yesterday’s testimony:
KKKing:
As GOP leadership removes Steve King from committees, Politico asks, why now? “While the King drama played out over the past few days, some Republicans seized on the incident to reorient the party's position — and maybe more importantly, its language — on race. Yet with President Donald Trump regularly stoking racial division from the Oval Office, it’s not clear the action against King will amount to anything meaningful for the GOP.”
From the Des Moines Register’s Editorial Board: “Steve King should resign for the good of Iowa”
From the Sioux City Journal’s Editorial Board: “Steven King should resign”
From The Daily Show: "Is Rep. Steve King Racist?"
More Stories:
From WaPo: “Beto O’Rourke’s immigration plan: No wall, few specifics”
From The Atlantic: “Why Did the Border Patrol Union Switch Its Position on the Wall?”
From CityLab: “Why America’s Largest Migrant Youth Detention Center Closed”