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The Federal Tap: They’re back! Tennessee kicks off a jam-packed month of 14 primaries

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July 27, 2018Issue No. 123

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Week in review
On tap next week

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Here's what happened in federal politics last week. To see what happened in state and local politics, click here.

Saturday, July 21

Trump endorses Balderson in battleground OH-12 special election, his eighth U.S. House endorsement of the year

  • President Donald Trump endorsed state Sen. Troy Balderson (R) in the August 7 special election for Ohio’s 12th Congressional District against Franklin County Recorder Danny O’Connor (D). He tweeted, “Troy Balderson of Ohio is running for Congress against a Nancy Pelosi Liberal who is WEAK on Crime & Borders. Troy is the total opposite, and loves our Military, Vets & 2nd Amendment. EARLY VOTING just started with Election Day on August 7th. Troy has my Full & Total Endorsement!”
  • Balderson calls himself a strong supporter of President Trump, who won the district by a margin of 11 points. He supports the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and an Obamacare replacement that requires health insurance to cover pre-existing conditions.
  • O’Connor is running as a moderate candidate, calling for a change in congressional leadership from both House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and pledging to work with Republicans and Trump to fix infrastructure.
  • Balderson is the eighth candidate for U.S. House to be endorsed by Trump this year.
  • See also: Endorsements by Donald Trump

U.S. Chamber puts $200,000 behind pro-Rossi ad buy in WA-08

  • The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent $200,000 running a TV ad in support of former state Sen. Dino Rossi (R), a candidate in the August 7 top-two primary for Washington’s 8th District. The seat is held by retiring U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R) and is rated a “toss-up” by election forecasters.
  • Rossi will likely compete in the November general election as the top two vote getters in the primary advance to the general election, regardless of party. The Republican Party has consolidated its endorsements and spending behind him while three Democrats—Kim Schrier, Jason Rittereiser, and Shannon Hader—compete for the other general election spot. In addition to the Chamber of Commerce, the Club for Growth, the Republican Main Street Partnership, and President Mike Pence’s Great America Committee all endorsed Rossi.
  • The 8th District voted for Hillary Clinton by 3 percentage points in the 2016 election. It voted for Barack Obama in 2012 by 1.6 percentage points.

Monday, July 23

Senate confirms Wilkie as VA secretary

  • The United States Senate voted 86 to 9 to confirm Robert Wilkie as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Wilkie previously served as Assistant Secretary of Defense in the George W. Bush (R) administration. Within the Donald J. Trump (R) administration, he previously served as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.
    • In a statement, Trump said, "Under [Wilkie's] leadership, I have no doubt that the Department of Veterans Affairs will continue to make strides in honoring and protecting the heroic men and women who have served our nation with distinction." Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, said, "I am confident that Robert Wilkie is the right leader because he has the expertise, the judgement and the character to take on the challenges that lie ahead and will bring stability and leadership to the VA." Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who sits on the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, said, "By confirming Mr. Wilkie, we do right by the millions of veterans who look to the VA for health care and benefits they earned in service to our nation. But our job doesn't stop today. The Senate must always hold Mr. Wilkie accountable to the millions of American veterans he serves."
    • Trump announced his intent to nominate Wilkie to the position on May 18, 2018, after his previous pick for the position, Admiral Ronny Jackson, MD, withdrew from consideration amid allegations of workplace misconduct. Trump removed previous VA secretary David Shulkin from his post on March 28, 2018, amid allegations that he misused public funds. Both Jackson and Shulkin denied the allegations against them.

Judicial Crisis Network launches new round of ads

  • The Judicial Crisis Network, a satellite group supporting Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, began a new round of ads targeting Democrats in West Virginia, North Dakota, Indiana, and Alabama. This ad buy brought the network's total spending to support Kavanaugh's confirmation to $5.3 million.
  • Previous ads went toward targeting Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin, Joe Donnelly, Heidi Heitkamp, and Doug Jones. Immediately following Kavanaugh's nomination announcement, the group released an ad supporting his confirmation, made a $1.4 million ad buy, and launched the website ConfirmKavanaugh.com.

Tuesday, July 24

Georgia primary runoff review

Carolyn Bourdeaux wins GA-07 Democratic primary runoff

  • Carolyn Bourdeaux defeated David Kim in the Democratic primary runoff for Georgia’s 7th District. Bourdeaux will face incumbent Rob Woodall (R) in the general election. Although the district voted for Donald Trump by 6 percentage points in 2016, it is partially located in Gwinnett County, one of six countries in the nation that voted for Hillary Clinton after going for Mitt Romney in 2012 and John McCain in 2008. The 7th District is on the DCCC’s list of targeted seats in 2018.

McBath (D) will challenge Handel (R) in GA-06

  • Lucy McBath, an advocate for stricter gun regulations, defeated businessman Kevin Abel in the Democratic primary runoff for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District. She will face U.S. Rep. Karen Handel (R) in the general election.
  • McBath’s gun regulation message was centered on the death of her son, Jordan Davis, who was shot and killed in 2012. She received more than $1 million in satellite spending support from Everytown for Gun Safety, where she has served as a spokeswoman. Abel said he would appeal to centrist and Republican voters in the general election and would oppose Nancy Pelosi as House Democratic leader.
  • Handel was first elected in a 2017 special election that drew national attention. She defeated Democrat Jon Ossoff in the most expensive U.S. House race ever. Over $50 million was spent, mostly by Democrats trying to flip the seat after Donald Trump won it by less than two percentage points in 2016.

USDA announces $12 billion aid package for farmers

  • Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced a $12 billion aid package for farmers affected by tariffs imposed by other nations in response to those imposed by the Trump administration. The aid would be distributed via the following programs:
      • Market Facilitation Program: Under this program, the United States Department of Agriculture would "provide payments incrementally to producers of soybeans, sorghum, corn, wheat, cotton, dairy, and hogs."
      • Food Purchase and Distribution Program: Under this program, the agriculture department would "purchase unexpected surplus of affected commodities such as fruits, nuts, rice, legumes, beef, pork, and mil for distribution to food banks and other nutrition programs."
      • Trade Promotion Program: Under this program, the agriculture department, in coordination with private sector entities, would "assist in developing new export markets" for farm products.
    • Perdue said, "This is a short-term solution to allow President Trump time to work on long-term trade deals to benefit agriculture and the entire U.S. economy. The President promised to have the back of every American farmer and rancher, and he knows the importance of keeping our rural economy strong. Unfortunately, America’s hard-working agricultural producers have been treated unfairly by China’s illegal trading practices and have taken a disproportionate hit when it comes illegal retaliatory tariffs. USDA will not stand by while our hard-working agricultural producers bear the brunt of unfriendly tariffs enacted by foreign nations. The programs we are announcing today help ensure our nation’s agriculture continues to feed the world and innovate to meet the demand."
    • Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) criticized the aid package: "America's farmers don't want to be paid to lose — they want to win by feeding the world. This administration's tariffs and bailouts aren't going to make America great again, they're just going to make it 1929 again." Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) argued that the aid package failed to account for other industries affected by tariffs: "I want to know what we're going to say to the automobile manufacturers and the petrochemical manufacturers and all the other people who are being hurt by tariffs. You've got to treat everybody the same."

Sabato ratings shift in favor of Democrats

  • Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a service of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, made 17 changes in House race ratings Tuesday, all in favor of Democrats. These changes moved the service’s projected odds of a Democratic takeover of the U.S. House to better than 50-50 for the first time in this election cycle.

Kavanaugh meets with Rand Paul

  • Brett Kavanaugh met with Rand Paul, who said they had a good meeting and that they’re “still evaluating.” Paul has voiced criticism of Kavanaugh's opinion on personal privacy and the Fourth Amendment. Paul said in an interview that he was unsure whether he would vote to confirm Kavanaugh, and that he was concerned about Kavanaugh's positions on the Fourth Amendment.

Wednesday, July 25

GOP lawmakers introduce articles of impeachment against Rosenstein

  • Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) introduced five articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in the United States House of Representatives, alleging misconduct on Rosenstein's part in his response to congressional investigations of the Department of Justice and FBI and their conduct of the Russia probe. The following representatives signed on as co-sponsors to the articles of impeachment: Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Scott Perry (R-Penn.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Jody Hice (R-Ga.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), and Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn).
    • Meadows, chair of the House Freedom Caucus, said, "For 9 months we’ve warned them consequences were coming, and for 9 months we’ve heard the same excuses backed up by the same unacceptable conduct. Time is up and the consequences are here. It’s time to find a new Deputy Attorney General who is serious about accountability and transparency." Jordan said, "The [Department of Justice] is keeping information from Congress. Enough is enough. It's time to hold Mr. Rosenstein accountable for blocking Congress's constitutional oversight role."
    • Democrats denounced the move. In a joint statement, Reps. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), said, "It is a panicked and dangerous attempt to undermine an ongoing criminal investigation in an effort to protect President Trump as the walls are closing in around him and his associates. It is certainly not, as its sponsors claim, a principled attempt to conduct oversight of the Department of Justice, because House Republicans have refused to conduct oversight of any aspect of the Trump Administration, except where the inquiry might distract from their failed agenda, undermine law enforcement, and serve the interests of President Trump."
    • Regarding the possibility of bringing the articles of impeachment to a vote before the full House, Meadows said, "What we put in today was non-privileged. It goes in, gets referred to the Judiciary Committee, but starting [July 26], we can bring it up as a privileged motion. It really means that it would require a vote on the House floor within two days and that's something any member of Congress, Jim [Jordan] or I, can do."

Trump and EU President Juncker agree to work to reduce tariffs

  • President Donald Trump (R) and European Union Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced that the United States and the EU would work to reduce the tariffs announced by the Trump administration in June and those announced by the EU in response. The announcement came a day after the Department of Agriculture announced an aid package for farmers to reduce the impact of the tariffs. The initial imposition of tariffs was widely criticized by Republican senators and received mixed reviews from Democratic senators.
  • Trump said, "We agreed today first of all to work together towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers and zero subsidies for the non-auto industrial goods. We're starting the negotiation right now, but we know very much where it's going." Juncker said, "When I was invited by the president to the White House, I had one intention: I had the intention to make a deal today. And we made a deal today." Specifics of the plan had yet to be finalized at the time of the announcement. Trump and Juncker agreed "to work towards zero tariffs on non-auto industrial goods" and "to reduce barriers and increase trade in services, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical products and soybeans."

Plans for second meeting between Trump and Putin postponed to 2019

  • On July 25, 2018, John Bolton, President Donald Trump's (R) national security adviser, announced that a second planned meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, originally scheduled for the fall, would instead take place after January 1, 2019. In a statement, Bolton said, "The president believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over, so we've agreed that it will be after the first of the year."
    • On July 16, 2018, Trump and Putin met in Helsinki, Finland, for a formal one-on-one meeting, the first such meeting between the two.
    • On July 19, 2018, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump's press secretary, had announced that plans were being made for a second meeting between Trump and Putin in the fall. Sanders said, "In Helsinki, [Trump] agreed to ongoing working level dialogue between the two security council staffs. President Trump asked [national security adviser John Bolton] to invite President Putin to Washington in the fall and those discussions are already underway." Trump said, "I look forward to our second meeting so that we can start implementing some of the many things discussed, including stopping terrorism, security for Israel, nuclear proliferation, cyber attacks, trade, Ukraine, Middle East peace, North Korea, and more."
    • On July 23, 2018, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said, "I'm one who thinks that it's a good thing for leaders of countries to talk, but I would consider putting that one on the back burner for a while." Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), said, "I don't particularly want to see a grand ceremony for Putin, but I don't have any problem with the two leaders sitting down and hopefully having a better discourse than they've had until now."[5]

Thursday, July 26

West Virginia secretary of state rejects Blankenship's Senate candidacy

  • West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner (R) rejected coal magnate Don Blankenship's application to run as the Constitution Party candidate for U.S. Senate in West Virginia.
  • Since Blankenship came in third in the Republican primary with 20 percent support, Warner said he could not run because the state's "sore loser" law prohibits losing candidates in ballot-qualified primaries from running in the general election with a different party.
  • A spokesman for Blankenship said the campaign planned to challenge the state and was deciding between Kanawha County Circuit Court or a federal court for the venue.
  • West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R), who won the Republican primary with 35 percent of the vote, has recused himself from the matter and retained outside counsel.

GOP Rep. Meadows tables articles of impeachment against Rosenstein

  • Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) announced that he was tabling the articles of impeachment that he had introduced against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Meadows said that he would instead move to launch contempt proceedings against Rosenstein if Rosenstein should fail to turn over requested documents to the House. Meadows said that he came to this decision after speaking with House GOP leaders and Judiciary Committee chair Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.). Meadows said, "I hope we can avoid impeachment and hopefully avoid contempt and get the documents, but certainly both of those things are on the table and remain on the table to have more of a contempt process. Both options remain there."

Federal officials announce reunification of 1,442 children over age of 5 previously separated from parents who crossed into the U.S. illegally

  • Federal officials reported that 1,442 children over the age of 5, who had been separated from their parents who crossed into the United States illegally, had been reunited with their parents held in United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. Another 378 children had been sent either to a sponsor or to their parents held in Department of Homeland Security custody. Another 711 children remained in the care of the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement because their parents were either ineligible or unavailable for reunification. This included 120 children whose parents waived the right to reunification, 431 children whose parents were outside of the United States, and 94 whose parents' locations remained unclear.
    • On June 26, Judge Dana Sabraw, appointed in 2003 by President George W. Bush (R) to the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, ruled that migrant families separated at the border must be reunited. Sabraw issued a nationwide injunction against separating migrant families at the border. The ruling specified that children under the age of 5 held in federal shelters should be returned to their parents by July 10 and children older than the age of 5 should be returned by July 26. Sabraw stated in the injunction that families were not to be separated unless parents were deemed unfit and added that parents were entitled to speak with their children within 10 days. Federal officials had asked Sabraw to extend these deadlines. Sabraw denied the request.

Congress is in session

The Senate will be session Monday through Friday. The House will be in recess until September 4.

SCOTUS is out of session

The Supreme Court has finished its argument scheduled for the term. To learn more about this term, read our review.

WHAT'S ON TAP NEXT WEEK

Here's what is happening in federal politics this week. To see what happened in state and local politics, click here.

Monday, July 30

Joe Manchin plans to meet with Brett Kavanaugh

  • Sen. Joe Manchin (D) said he will meet with Kavanaugh on July 30, becoming the first Democratic senator to schedule a meeting with Kavanaugh.
  • Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) said he would not meet with Kavanaugh until the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee agreed on which documents about Kavanaugh's history should be released.

Thursday, August 2

Tennessee primary preview

Where was the president last week?

  • On Monday, President Donald Trump (R) hosted Made in America Day at the White House, a celebration of products manufactured in the United States.
  • On Tuesday, Trump was in Missouri speaking at the national convention for the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.
  • On Wednesday, Trump met with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) at the White House. He also met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen. Trump later met with European Commission President Juncker at the White House.
  • On Thursday, Trump traveled to Iowa and Granite City, Illinois to speak on the American workforce.
  • On Friday, Trump met with Pompeo in the Situation Room of the White House. Later, Trump and first lady Melania Trump left Washington to spend the weekend in Bedminster, N.J.

Federal Judiciary

  • 146 federal judicial vacancies
  • 85 pending nominations
  • 31 future federal judicial vacancies


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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

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