|
Capital Journal
|
Good morning from the WSJ's Washington bureau.
|
|
|
Trump's Day: President Trump hosts a cabinet meeting. He meets later with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo at the White House.
Fed Chair: Jerome Powell delivers remarks on economic development in high poverty rural communities at a conference in Mississippi.
Cohen: Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for President Trump, postponed planned testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee until later this month.
|
|
|
|
PHOTO: J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
|
|
|
Senior lawmakers said last night they had reached an agreement in principle on a deal to end a monthslong fight over border security. The top four lawmakers on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees emerged after three closed-door meetings Monday and announced that they had agreed to a framework for spending bills to avoid a government shutdown this weekend, report Kristina Peterson, Andrew Duehren and Natalie Andrews.
-
The deal would include $1.38 billion for 55 miles of modern physical barriers along the border with Mexico, according to congressional aides from both parties.
-
The deal gives both parties something they had sought. Democrats kept funding for physical barriers along the border far below President Trump’s request. But Republicans blocked Democrats’ efforts to place certain limits on detention beds, an issue that had derailed the talks over the weekend.
|
|
President Trump called for wall in a scorching address in El Paso, Texas, last night, report Reid J. Epstein and Rebecca Ballhaus. Mr. Trump played down the apparent deal between congressional negotiators, saying “maybe” there was progress but “I don’t want to hear about it.”
-
He also laced into former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat who is weighing a 2020 presidential bid and was also holding a rally, calling him a campaign loser who “has very little going for himself.”
-
Mr. O’Rourke didn’t mention Mr. Trump by name. He praised El Paso, his hometown, as a safe city because of its large immigrant population.
|
|
|
Democrats Face Great Opportunity—and High Peril
|
|
|
|
Democrats confront a Republican president who has a job-approval rating that has never topped 50%, one they faced down in a government shutdown last month, and who awaits a special counsel report that could be anything from distracting to disastrous. President Trump’s standing among independent voters, in particular, suggests the political center is wide open for Democrats. Yet Democrats also could blow the opportunity, with a combination of policy extremism and internal stridency. Jerry's full column.
|
|
|
|
|
|
PHOTO: SHAWN THEW/SHUTTERSTOCK
|
|
|
Freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) apologized after Democratic leaders demanded she do so for what they called her use of "anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations" against supporters of Israel, report Natalie Andrews and Joshua Jamerson. She also said she would continue to raise concerns about the influence of lobbyists’ money in politics.
-
At issue were two tweets, in which Ms. Omar first remarked "It's all about the Benjamins baby" in reference to U.S. politicians defending Israel, and then named AIPAC -- a pro-Israel lobbying group -- as the organization she said was paying them.
-
“Her words are deeply hurtful and offensive, particularly as they build on a previous comment she made about Jews ‘hypnotizing’ the world in support of Israel,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D., N.Y.).
|
|
Republicans see an opportunity in the “Green New Deal.” The GOP sees the proposal as a chance to paint Democrats as extreme and out of touch on energy policy. A super PAC affiliated with the House Republican leadership launched two digital ads yesterday criticizing the proposal, reports Andrew Duehren.
|
|
|
Democratic presidential hopefuls are entering the arena in the dead of winter. Candidates used to enter fewer than twelve months before Election Day. Why the change? WSJ’s Jason Bellini reports.
|
|
|
|
|
Medicare for All legislation coming soon from House Democrats will put pressure on candidates to make clear where they stand, reports Stephanie Armour. Disagreements among candidates in the Democratic field are providing an opening for opponents to attack.
-
More than half of Americans support Medicare for All, according to a January Kaiser Family Foundation poll. But just 37% of people back it if they hear it requires higher taxes or eliminates private insurance.
|
|
The Trump administration is proposing steps aimed at improving patients’ access to their health data. The moves could benefit companies like Apple Inc. that are building tools for patients to store real-time health data on their digital devices, reports Anna Wilde Mathews.
|
|
|
|
House Democrats Scrutinize Nominees
|
|
|
|
Without control of the Senate, Democrats will have little official power over the appointment process for several key cabinet posts, including Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Defense.
But don’t expect House Democrats to sit on the sidelines just because they can’t vote. Democrats may attempt to wield their majority in the House to scrutinize new nominees in parallel to an official confirmation process.
House Natural Resources Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D., Ariz.) sent a letter last week to Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt requesting additional details about meetings on his public schedule. In the letter, Mr. Grijalva and Rep. T.J. Cox, the chairman of the Natural Resources Oversight subcommittee, wrote that Mr. Bernhardt may be altering his schedules to shield meetings with oil and gas lobbyists.
The House Democrats gave Mr. Bernhardt until Feb. 21 to respond to their request for more detailed calendar records. If the acting Interior Secretary does not meet that deadline, Mr. Grijalva said he would consider additional steps, including a subpoena, to obtain the information.
Any information that House Democrats can unearth about Mr. Bernhardt could play a role in the Senate confirmation process. Mr. Bernhardt will face questioning from Senate Democrats as part of his confirmation process.“We will outline areas that we feel merit some attention during the hearings,” said Mr. Grijalva. Mr. Grijalva also said the House committee would call Mr. Bernhardt to testify, though he said that would likely come after he faced the Senate.
With other potentially contentious confirmation fights facing the Senate, Democrats may increasingly weaponize their House majority for battles in the other chamber. House Democrats have already started digging into the president’s foreign policy, and any new information could play a role in the confirmation of a new Defense Secretary.
|
|
|
|
|
William Barr, left, and President George H.W Bush after Mr. Barr was sworn in as the U.S. Attorney General in 1991. PHOTO: SCOTT APPLEWHITE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
|
|
|
William Barr helped the Central Intelligence Agency navigate one of the most turbulent periods in its history, Byron Tau and Sadie Gurman report. The attorney general nominee was at the center of a showdown between the agency and Congress over access to some of the intelligence community’s most closely guarded secrets in the 1970s.
-
Mr. Barr will again face a skeptical Congress as he leads a Justice Department going through its own turbulent trials.
-
The Senate is expected to confirm Mr. Barr’s nomination later this week.
|
|
|
The U.S. is pressing Saudi Arabia to hold a former Saudi aide accountable in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, report Dion Nissenbaum, Warren P. Strobel and Summer Said. Saud al-Qahtani previously served in effect as the right-hand man to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but was fired after being accused of playing a role in Mr. Khashoggi’s death. He now serves as an informal royal adviser.
|
|
Separately, American Media's connections to Saudi Arabia have come under scrutiny, following a dust-up between the National Enquirer parent and Amazon Inc. founder Jeff Bezos. American Media sought advice last year from the Justice Department over whether it should register as a foreign agent, report Julie Bykowicz and Lukas I. Alpert, after publishing glossy magazine promoting Saudi Arabia.
|
|
|
Fourth-quarter results from U.S. companies indicate that slowing growth in China is modest, but broad, report Austen Hufford and Theo Francis. For U.S. businesses, the repercussions extend well beyond slowing sales at companies with the biggest exposure to China’s economy.
|
|
|
Steel is one bright spot in U.S. business. U.S. Steel said it plans to add 1.6 million tons of steelmaking capacity next year by resuming the construction of a new furnace in Alabama, Bob Tita reports. Tariffs on foreign metal are raising profits on domestic steel.
|
|
|
-
Former Vice President Joe Biden may be the only moderate Democrat who can lead a Democratic party increasingly drawn to progressive candidates. (New York Magazine)
-
Gun-control advocates in Florida are uniting to push a ban on semiautomatic assault rifles onto the 2020 ballot. (The Atlantic)
-
The confidence that the religious right placed in President Trump during his 2016 campaign has been largely vindicated. (The American Spectator)
|
|
|
This newsletter is a production of the WSJ Washington bureau. Our newsletter editors are Tim Hanrahan, Kate Milani, Troy McCullough and Daniel Nasaw. Send feedback to capitaljournal@wsj.com.
|
|