➔ CAMPAIGNS: Campaign season is underway. Trump visited South Bend, Ind. last night to stump for GOP Senate candidate Mike Braun, who vanquished two sitting Republican lawmakers – Reps. Todd Rokita and Luke Messer – for the right to take on Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) in November. Donnelly is one of 10 Senate Democrats up for reelection in states Trump carried in 2016. Where else will Trump campaign this cycle? He’s almost certain to make the trip to West Virginia, which he carried by 42 points in 2016. That’s bad news for Manchin, who is among the most vulnerable Democrats up for reelection. Here are Manchin’s thoughts on the matter, courtesy WLJS. “I told the president, you don’t need to come back to West Virginia, it’s nice to have you but not during an election cycle.” In his primary victory speech, Republican candidate Patrick Morissey pleaded with Trump to come as much as possible. “You’ve been to this state now four times. I’d like you to come back as many times as you can between now and November.” And the president might not be the only Trump to visit. Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. will hit the campaign trail soon and West Virginia is likely to be his first stop. Trump Jr. is staffing up ahead of the push, adding veteran GOP operative Andy Surabian to his team (The Hill). Dan Balz: Midwestern voters gave Trump a chance. Now they’re the key to his political future. The Hill: Progressive groups endorse Dems in two key races. The Hill: Americans are upbeat about the economy but that isn’t translating into support for the tax bill. The Hill: Republicans are having a hard time attracting interest from cities that might want to host their 2020 convention. ➔ INVESTIGATIONS: “What I think is that it’s been about a year since this investigation began. Our administration has provided over a million documents, we’ve fully cooperated in it and in the interest of the country, I think it’s time to wrap it up." – Vice President Pence on NBC’s “Today” show. The special counsel investigation turns one year-old on Thursday. Separate from the special counsel’s Russia probe, there have been a cascade of stories in recent days about Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen, whose business dealings are under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Cohen appears to have amassed a broad portfolio of corporate clients who paid him handsomely under the expectation that he could provide access to the president. Essentially, he was acting as an independent lobbyist. Cohen denies any wrongdoing. And in an exclusive interview with The Hill’s Niall Stanage, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said the media needs to “calm down” and that the story does not involve the president or the White House. The Hill: Watchdog group asks DOJ to probe Cohen dealings. The Los Angeles Times: Michael Cohen turned his access to Trump into big money -- now big trouble. That story overshadowed an escalating drama on Capitol Hill, where conservative lawmakers are locked in a fight with the Justice Department over classified documents pertaining to the special counsel. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Nunes and committee member Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said they had a “productive conversation” with senior law enforcement officials about the documents divide on Thursday. The Hill: Ryan backs Nunes in latest pursuit of DOJ documents. The Wall Street Journal: The FBI was spying on the Trump campaign. The Hill (op-ed): Demand for Mueller’s “scope” memo threatens principles of proper oversight. ➔ INTERNATIONAL: North Korea: The president announced via Twitter that his historic summit meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un will take place in Singapore on June 12. The Hill: Why Singapore is the right spot for Trump-Kim summit. The Hill: More than three-quarters of Americans approve of the meeting. The Hill: Democrats want to hold Trump to the goal he set of verifiable denuclearization of North Korea. The Hill: The president rebukes Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) over his criticism of Trump’s decision to exit the Iran nuclear agreement. Iran: The Wall Street Journal: U.S. took a step toward cutting Iran off from the global economy, levying sanctions on a financing network. Reuters: Oil prices near multi-year highs as Iran sanctions tighten supply outlook. Europe: The Hill — German Chancellor Angela Merkel told an audience Thursday that Europe can no longer count on the United States to protect it, urging the continent to “take destiny into its own hands.” >Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Europe’s opposition and “posturing” following Trump’s decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran was a reflection of European nations’ business ties to Tehran (The Hill). Israel: The Hill — White House condemns the “Iranian regime’s provocation against Israel.” The New York Times: Israel and Iran engage in a shadow war in Syria. The New York Times: Why Israel and Iran are clashing in Syria. The Associated Press: United Nations chief calls for halt to “all hostile acts” in Middle East. Islamic State: The New York Times — Five senior Islamic State in Iraq and Syria officials were captured, including a top aide to the group’s leader, in a complex cross-border sting carried out by Iraqi and American intelligence, two Iraqi officials said Wednesday. The president tweeted about the sting on Thursday. © Screenshot/Twitter New York Times foreign correspondent Rukmini Callimachi says the ISIS arrests occurred in February: © Screenshot/Twitter ➔ CABINET & WHITE HOUSE: Homeland Security Department: The New York Times — Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen considered quitting after Trump suggested during a Wednesday Cabinet meeting that she failed to make U.S. borders secure. In a statement Thursday about the blowup, Nielsen said the president was “rightly frustrated” with existing immigration laws. Treasury Department: The Hill – The nomination of Adam Lerrick, tapped for deputy undersecretary of the Treasury Department for international finance, was withdrawn. Lerrick is expected to become a senior adviser to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, according to NBC News. Veterans Administration: The Associated Press — Trump considers Army veteran Rep. Brian Mast, 37, of Florida among potential nominees to lead the troubled department. White House: *** New today...White House chief of staff John Kelly speaks with NPR’s “Morning Edition”...says Trump is “embarrassed” by Russia probe...claims he has never considered leaving the White House despite “times of great frustration.” Drug pricing: The Hill – The president today will speak about lowering the costs of pharmaceuticals, but he won’t call for negotiating drug prices in Medicare. National Security Council: National security adviser John Bolton continues to remake the NSC staff to his liking. HuffPost: Rear Adm. Tim Ziemer, the head of global health security, departed on Tuesday. As it happened, cases of Ebola emerged in the Congo this week, with one casualty reported. Politico: Bolton is pushing to eliminate White House cyber security position. |
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