No Images? Click here 6 MARCHBloomberg, Clinton outBillionaire Michael Bloomberg and 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won't be among those Democrats running for the White House in 2020, with both declaring this week that they were sitting out the race. “I am clear-eyed about the difficulty of winning the Democratic nomination in such a crowded field,” Bloomberg wrote in an op-ed Monday published on his news organisation’s website. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton told New York TV station News12 in an interview that she has ruled out a presidential bid in 2020. However, she vowed she was "not going anywhere". There are 11 confirmed candidates, three exploratory committees, and multiple potentials in the Democratic field for the presidential nomination. Follow our Democratic candidate tracker here. NEWS WRAPHistory-making Mia Love headed to Oz
I want them to embrace this plan. I want them to go and sell this plan. I just want to be the Republican that runs against them for that. I’m going to regret this speech. This speech should have been delivered one year from now, not now, damn it. President Trump addresses the CPAC Conference about Democrats' "Green New Deal" ANALYSISAfter Cohen – and before Mueller – what next?Bruce Wolpe What is now clear after Michael Cohen's testimony in Washington last week is that investigations are metastasising with frightening speed in Congress and in the Southern District of New York – at least to the White House – and we have not even seen the Mueller report yet. A small marker: Every major "revelation" in The New York Times or Washington Post or other credible news sources is immediately followed up by the key House committees –demanding documents and plans to hold hearings with White House witnesses. The issue of security clearance for the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner is a prime example. This is the oversight regime of the Democrats in the House, and it will now occur relentlessly for the next two years. A bigger marker: This new level of activity was crystallised on Monday of this week through two key chairmen in the House: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), head of the Select Committee on Intelligence, who is drilling down hard on issues of collusion and conspiracy between the Trump Organization, the Trump campaign and the Russians; and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), chair of the Judiciary Committee, who has opened a wide-ranging investigation of abuses of power, obstruction of justice and corruption involving Trump. It is the Judiciary Committee that has sole jurisdiction over impeachment. It is clear from the Cohen testimony that the Southern District of New York (SDNY) is now a hotbed of investigations into virtually every aspect of the Trump Organization businesses. Indeed, what is being revealed to the public now has been under scrutiny by Mueller and SDNY for months; nothing Cohen said was news to them. Whenever the Mueller investigation concludes, the US Attorney in New York will still be on the case for long after the Mueller report – and perhaps for long after Trump leaves office. The Cohen testimony and the Mueller report, when issued, will fuse politically among Democrats in the House. Once this occurs, the substance absorbed and when the facts generated by the House committee probes come in, there will be strong pressure to hold hearings in the House Judiciary Committee deciding whether what has been reported is worthy of consideration for impeachment. Make no mistake, Cohen lit a fuse, which is still burning. Cohen again appears behind closed doors in the House Select Committee on Intelligence later today; and the chairman has promised to release transcripts from his earlier closed-door sessions. Mueller may well be holding a bomb. Given the intense anti-Trump sentiment within the House Democratic caucus, the result of these oversight investigations by the House committees will be a process through which an affirmative decision will be taken as to whether – or not – the House should formally consider impeaching the president. This process could be finalised by August. DIARYThe week ahead
EVENTIncome inequality: How to tackle wage woes in Australia and the United StatesWeakness in wages growth has been called a "crisis" in Australia and fixing the issue is proving a puzzle for policymakers. In the United States, unemployment is at record lows but debates over income inequality are informing populist politics on both the left and the right. To help examine how governments and business can tackle these issues in Australia and the United States, the Global Head of Economic Research at Indeed.com Martha Gimbel will appear in discussion with the USSC's Trade and Investment Program Director Dr Stephen Kirchner while she is in Australia. Dr Kirchner will also launch his latest research at the event, which looks at the link between productivity and compensation for workers in Australia and the United States. DATE & TIME LOCATION COST Manage your email preferences | Forward this email to a friend United States Studies Centre
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