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Another day, another scandal -- er, scandals. We now know that top Russian officials discussed how to influence Trump aides last summer. Curious when you consider that it turns out AG Jeff Sessions did not disclose meetings with Russian officials in 2016 when he applied for his security clearance. Ironic when you consider that his boss can’t seem to stop disclosing intel -- this time, sharing the location of two nuclear submarines with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. Here in America, we have our own way of hurting substance users: denying them healthcare. Well, them and 23 million other Americans if the House GOP bill is enacted. The CBO issued its budgetary impact of the AHCA, and boy, is it a doozy. Not only will 23 million lose health insurance, but the savings will go to tax cuts for the wealthiest. Turns out millionaires will be the only ones tired of "so much winning." Here’s what else is happening in politics:- Barack Obama talks healthcare and immigration.
- Black women tell Tom Pérez he better call Tyrone.
- A senior staffer leaves the Department of Education.
- The CHC summons Labor Secretary Alex Acosta.
- Congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) leads a millennial caucus.
- Congressman Al Green (D-TX) is drawing up impeachment papers.
- Survey Monkey just got some real Black Girl Magic on their board.
- Latino Victory Project names a Political Director.
- APALA names a new Executive Director.
- Former Senate staffer launches congressional bid.
- Join Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Congressman Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), and Marc Morial today on Capitol Hill.
- Want to meet Vanita Gupta, the incoming President at The Leadership Conference? RSVP below in FOMO.
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On Wednesday, Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) hosted Khadejah from Birmingham, a young person who lived in foster care and came to the Hill to share her story. | |  |
CHC Chair Congresswoman Michelle Luján Grisham (D-NM) met with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association today from the local Albuquerque Center. | |
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Obama Talks Healthcare and Immigration in Berlin
Former President Barack Obama discussed health care, immigration, and faith during a joint appearance with German Chancellor Angela Merkel before a huge crowd in Berlin this morning. He didn’t mention Donald Trump directly, but many of his remarks on immigration, health care and the threats to the international order and to human rights clearly spelled out a worldview that is at odds with the current administration. Obama warned that "progress" towards universal health care made during his presidency was in peril as Republicans try to repeal his signature domestic achievement. "My hope was that I was able to get 100% of people health care while I was president. We didn't quite achieve that, but we were able to get 20 million people healthcare who didn't have healthcare," he said. Before a crowd of thousands, he also addressed immigration. "In the eyes of God, a child on the other side of the border is no less worthy of love and compassion than my own child," Obama said. "You can't distinguish between them in terms of their worth or inherent dignity ... We can't isolate ourselves. We can't hide behind a wall," Obama said. See full video here.
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Dear DNC Chair Pérez: Black Women are Calling but You’re Not Picking Up
Black women activists, civic, and community leaders, and elected officials penned an open letter to Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Pérez calling for a meeting to discuss the state of Black women and the party. “Since taking office, you have met with and listened to key constituencies. But you have yet to host a Black women leaders convening. Organizing without the engagement of Black women will prove to be a losing strategy, and there is much too much at stake for the Democratic Party to ignore Black women.” See the full letter -- which was signed by Congresswomen Marcia Fudge (D-OH), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), state delegates and representatives, and more -- here.
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CHC Summons Acosta
Members of the CHC sent a letter inviting Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to a meeting to discuss policies and regulations under his jurisdiction. As stated in the letter, “Hispanics represent more than 16 percent of the workforce. This number will only continue to increase as Hispanics are projected to represent nearly 30 percent of the country's population by 2060. We cannot afford regulations that will unjustly and disproportionately harm Hispanic communities.” The members added, “We hope you will take seriously the responsibility of building inclusive policies that seeks to protect the full diversity of America’s workers and communities, and stand firm in opposing policies and regulations that stand to disadvantage Hispanic and minority workers and employees.” Read the entire letter here.
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Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) met with AAPI staffers on Monday to discuss how to improve AAPI representation on the Hill. | |  | The Raben Group's Zuraya Tapia-Hadley with Mitzi Ramírez of Grupo Salinas and Nina Roque of CHLI. | |
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Carlos Curbelo, Stephanie Murphy to Help Lead Congressional 'Future Caucus' Aimed at Millennials
It’s true: a new congressional caucus has been formed aimed at millennials, with two representatives of color -- Congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) and Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) -- at the helm. Curbelo and Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) will be co-chairs of the newly announced “Future Caucus,” and Murphy and Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) will serve as co-vice chairs. The caucus was organized by the Millennial Action Project, to create a bipartisan block of young lawmakers under the age of 45 that focuses on next-generation leadership and policy issues. Learn more here.
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Speaking of Millennials -- They’re Not Too Keen on Trump’s Budget
A majority of Americans ages 18 to 34 disapprove of Trump's budget and economic priorities, according to a recent GenForward poll of millennials, a project of the University of Chicago. Sixty-eight percent disapprove of increasing military spending by cutting spending for the State Department, Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies, while just 32 percent approve. And two-thirds of these younger Americans -- 66 percent -- say Trump's budget proposals do more to help the rich. Millennials also want the rich to pay more: 74 percent of young Americans favor increasing taxes for those making more than $1 million a year. NBC has more.
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Green Was Threatened ... But He Persisted
Congressman Al Green (D-TX) is pushing ahead with the process of impeaching Donald Trump and is currently drawing up articles of impeachment. Green has since detailed racially charged threats he has received but insists he has not been dissuaded from the process. “We will move forward, and as a matter of fact, I am currently crafting, drafting if you will, articles of impeachment,” he told C-SPAN Tuesday. He did not say when he would file a privileged resolution for impeachment, which would have to be considered in the House within two days, but said he was working with constitutional lawyers. And, he added, he would be prepared to go at it alone if need be. More here.
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Ted Childs and Soledad O'Brien at the Tanenbaum Center Awards Gala on Tuesday night. | |  |
On Wednesday night, TV Asian Network aired a special program on SAALT's National South Asian Summit 2017. | |
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Lieu Weighs in on Body Slammed Reporter
Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA) joked that the reporter who said he was "body slammed" by GOP Congressional candidate Greg Gianforte is lucky the GOP healthcare plan is not law. “Thank goodness Trumpcare is not yet law. Injuries from Greg Gianforte assaults are still covered. He should also withdraw from the race,” Lieu wrote on Twitter. The tweet comes after Ben Jacobs of The Guardian accused Gianforte of body-slamming him at a campaign event in Montana on Wednesday night when he was trying to ask the candidate to weigh in on the CBO's scoring of the GOP's ACA replacement plan. The entire incident was caught on audio. What’s not heard on audio is an outcry from people who endorsed this candidate and made robocalls for him--including Donald Trump. You know--the same group of people who loosely throw around words like "thugs," "bad hombres," and "losers." As voters head to the polls today, Gianforte has been charged with assault. To listen to the exchange, click here.
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Latino Groups Say CBO Confirms Their Worst Fears
Well, we understand why no Republican wants to talk about that CBO score. Latino groups, along with everyone else, are again slamming the House-passed Obamacare replacement American Health Care Act (AHCA), saying the CBO’s estimate released yesterday of up 37 million (including 14 million Medicare recipients) Americans losing healthcare under the AHCA hits minority communities hard. “The CBO estimate confirms what we already know: TrumpCare will cause serious harm to millions of working families, including many Latinos. This is a cruel plan,” says Cristóbal Alex, President of the Latino Victory Fund. See the full CBO report here.
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Clarke, Cárdenas, and Morial Invite You to Join Them for a Discussion on Multicultural Media
Today at 1P, the Congressional Caucus on Multicultural Media will host its inaugural media summit in conjunction with the National Urban League. The Multicultural Media Caucus is chaired by Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and Congressman Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) and they focus on increasing diversity in media. They will join NUL’s Marc Morial for the summit which will feature a panel discussion on the 2017 Hollywood Diversity Report, the fourth in a series of annual reports to examine relationships between diversity and the bottom line in the Hollywood entertainment industry. It considers the top 200 theatrical film releases in 2015 and 1,206 broadcast, cable, and digital platform television shows from the 2014-15 season in order to document the degree to which women and minorities are present in front of and behind the camera. To RSVP, click here.
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Congressman Henry Cuéllar (D-TX) meeting with Mexican congressman Gabriel Tlaloc Cantú Tuesday to discuss security issues. | |  |
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn sat for a Q&A at Tech Crunch on May 16th. | |
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SurveyMonkey Just Added Some Black Girl Magic to their Board
Tennis superstar Serena Williams is making her first foray into the technology world by joining the board of online survey giant SurveyMonkey, the company announced on Wednesday. The match was made through Facebook COO and SurveyMonkey board member Sheryl Sandberg. Sandberg and her late husband, Dave Goldberg, SurveyMonkey's former CEO, were longtime friends of Williams. SurveyMonkey CEO Zander Lurie was looking to add more outside board members, especially from other industries. The two hit it off at a dinner party at Sandberg's house last fall, and it started the conversation about how they could work together which led to the mom-to-be joining their board. More here.
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Latino Victory Project Names Political Director
Latino Victory Project has named Mayra Macias as its new Political Director. The former political director of the Florida Democratic Party is ready to head up the organization's political operation as it begins launching affiliates in states like Georgia, New York, Arizona, and Florida, which have large Latino populations disproportionate to Latino representation in government. "This past election cycle showed the country the power of the Latino vote and the potential to grow this electorate," the Yale graduate said in a statement. The group has recently brought on several high-profile operatives, including former Hillary Clinton and former Senator Harry Reid adviser Jorge Silva and former Democratic National Convention Committee and Media Matters staffer Jess Torres. More here.
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APALA Names New ED
Alvina Yeh is the incoming Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance and Institute for Asian Pacific American Leadership & Advancement. Originally from Colorado, Alvina comes from a family who fled from the Vietnam War. Her experiences as a child of immigrants and growing up in a house that welcomed and supported refugees and immigrants have shaped her values and commitment to the community. Most recently, she served as the Director of State Capacity Building with State Voices, working with state-based coalitions on program management, strategic planning, and organizational development. Her prior experiences include high-level work on several campaigns at the congressional and presidential level and serving as Program Director at Asian Pacific Islander American Vote. More here.
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|  | Cuban ambassador José Ramón Cabañas (center) with local Cuban American leaders at a José Martí monument in Shively, KY. | |  |
Borderplex Alliance President Jon Barela and Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce President Richard Dayoub in DC to talk NAFTA and other border issues, pose for a pic with Mexican Ambassador Gerónimo Gutiérrez. | |
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Former Senate Staffer Launches Congressional Bid
Democrat Kia Hamadanchy announced he'll run for the 45th congressional district last month, becoming the third Democrat to announce plans to challenge Congresswoman Mimi Walters (R-CA). Until March, Hamadanchy was a legislative assistant for Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH). He already has the endorsement of his former boss. Hamadanchy's parents fled the Iranian revolution, and he grew up in Orange County, CA. He has a law degree from the University of Michigan and also worked for former Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA). He will face another former Senate staffer in the race, Dave Min. More here.
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Another Candidate Readies to Replace Ros-Lehtinen
Former Miami-Dade School Board member Raquel Regalado announced her candidacy to replace outgoing Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) in Florida's 27th congressional district in 2018. Regalado, who calls herself a “compassionate Republican,” told The Miami Herald she thinks she is the type of moderate who could hold onto the district. “I think the majority of people believe it will be better to have a Republican in the room than a Democrat out in the hall,” Regalado said. Regalado campaigned for Democratic candidate Alex Sink for governor in 2010 as opposed to Republican Gov. Rick Scott, and she says neither she nor her father voted for Donald Trump. So ... she’s got that going for her. More here.
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Trump staffer Jennifer Korn showed some love to her soldier earlier this month wishing her husband well on Military Spouse Appreciation Day. | |  |
John Jones, CoS to Congressman Emmanual Cleaver (D-MO), delivered the commencement address to the Seton Hall School of Diplomacy and International Relations, and he was cheered on by Congressman Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ). | |
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Carson Calls Poverty a ‘State of Mind’
HUD Secretary Ben Carson said that poverty to “a large extent is also a state of mind.” Carson made the comments during a radio interview on Tuesday with Armstrong Williams. “You take somebody that has the right mindset, you take everything from them and put them on the street and I guarantee in a little while they’ll be right back up there,” he said in a SiriusXM radio interview released Wednesday. “And you take somebody with the wrong mindset, you can give them everything in the world, they’ll work their way right back down to the bottom.” Listen to the clip.
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Head of the Education Department’s Student Financial Aid Office has Resigned
On Tuesday night, James Runcie, the head of the Education Department’s student financial aid office, resigned abruptly at 10:30P after more than seven years on the job following an apparent dispute with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over his scheduled testimony before the House Oversight Committee. Runcie had been slated to testify on Thursday before the House Oversight Committee regarding the department’s rising improper payment rate for federal student aid programs. The resignation also comes as DeVos has proposed an overhaul of how the department collects student loan payments and has reportedly scaled back its enforcement of for-profit colleges. The WaPo reports that Runcie sent an email to his staff warning about brewing management problems he perceived within the agency. More here.
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Members of the Blackfeet Nation celebrate controlling their own water. After a 35-year battle. | |  |
Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA) questioned Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on tax cuts on Wednesday. | |
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Civil Rights Groups Unite to Shoot Down the Sheriff’s New Job Offer
Several top civil rights groups are sending a letter today to Donald Trump and DHS Secretary John Kelly urging them not to appoint Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke to be Assistant Secretary in the Office of Partnership and Engagement at the Department of Homeland Security. In the letter, the groups say he has a "history of incendiary and hateful statements" that "make him unfit to serve in this role." The letter is signed by the heads of the Anti-Defamation League, Human Rights Campaign, the National Urban League, the National Council of La Raza, and Muslim Advocates. See the letter here on Politico.
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Hands Off: Dems gathered in front of the capitol to protest Trump's budget that they say would cut off crucial programs. | |  |
Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) shares her kimchi recipe to benefit March of Dimes. | |
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Cuban Diplomats Racking Up Miles
Since Trump took office in January, Cuban diplomats have been crisscrossing the United States a record number of times, so much that The Miami Herald jokes the slogan of the Cuban embassy in DC is “See America First.” Cuban diplomats have spoken at Harvard and Montana State University, received Cuban artists at a show in Baltimore, met with local officials in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Louisiana, suburban DC, and even attended the Kentucky Derby and learned about making barrels of bourbon. While in the Bluegrass State they met with the governor and posted for photos in Shively, KY, at a restored monument to 19th-century Cuban patriot José Martí. More here from The Miami Herald.
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CBC Members and Dem Leadership Introduce Legislation to Raise Minimum Wage
Today, Congressmen Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) will be joined by colleagues to announce the Raise the Wage Act of 2017.This legislation will raise the minimum wage nationwide incrementally from the current level of $7.25 to $15.00 an hour by 2024, and index the minimum wage to the median wage starting in 2025. For millions of people across the country, working 40 hours or more a week is not enough to pay the bills, support their families, and achieve economic mobility. According to reports, more than half of African American and Hispanic workers earn less than $15 per hour. Scott and Ellison will be joined by the Democratic leadership, Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Patty Murray (D-WA), the National Employment Law Project’s Raj Nayak, and Heidi Shierholz from the Economic Policy Institute.
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Van Jones, Aisha Tyler, Tabitha Jackson and Michael Showalter served as panelist on a Sundance conversation on patriotism in LA on Wednesday night. | |  | Chuck Rocha spotted in Monterey Bay, CA with LULAC's Brent Wilkes and friends checking out the outdoors at the Green Latinos summit. | |
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Emoluments Schmoluments -- Trump Org. Not Tracking Payments from Foreign Governments
Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) sent a letter to George A. Sorial, the EVP and Chief Compliance Counsel for The Trump Organization, raising grave concerns about the president’s refusal to comply with the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution and the Trump Organization’s deficient response to a bipartisan request for documents related to the president’s promise to donate to the U.S. Treasury all profits from foreign governments. “Complying with the United States Constitution is not an optional exercise, but a requirement for serving as our nation’s President,” Cummings said. See the letter here.
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Baltimore Attorney Arrested for Allegedly Telling a Rape Victim That Trump Would Deport Her For Testifying
Because our immigrant communities aren’t already scared enough, right? The lawyer for a Maryland man charged with sexual assault was arrested in Baltimore on Tuesday for allegedly offering to pay his client’s accuser not to testify and saying she would be deported by Donald Trump’s administration if she came to court. According to The Baltimore Sun, Attorney Christos Vasiliades was captured on a police recording referencing the “current environment for immigrants in this country” and offering $3,000 for the victim not to show up to testify. “You know how things are with Trump’s laws now. Someone goes to court and, boom, they get taken away.” This comes amidst real concerns by law enforcement across the country where many fear that reporting a crime or going to court will put them at risk of deportation. More here.
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AMfar's Asal Sayas, Obama alumnus Camron Gorguinpour, and The Raben Group's Christina Weaver at PEN America's debut hosted at The Raben Group on Wednesday. | |  |
Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX) in a hearing on Wednesday decrying what he describes as the unnecessary use of Social Security numbers. | |
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DeVos Won’t Say Whether She’d Withhold Federal Funds From Private Schools That Discriminate
When asked by Congresswoman Katherine M. Clark (D-MA) on Wednesday whether she could think of any circumstance in which the federal government should step in to stop federal dollars from going to private schools that discriminate against certain groups of students, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos did not directly answer. “We have to do something different than continuing a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach,” DeVos said. Huh?? Dems immediately criticized DeVos’s philosophy, saying the nation’s top education official must be willing to defend children against discrimination by institutions that get federal money. “To take the federal government’s responsibility out of that is just appalling and sad,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA). More here.
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The Leadership Conference Released Report on Economic Security
On Wednesday, The Leadership Conference Education Fund released its report, “In Their Own Words: Working People and the Need for Policies that Provide Economic Security.” The report documents the plight of people working in low-wage jobs and calls for policy initiatives in six areas critical to the life of every American worker: higher wages, paid family leave, paid sick days, fair scheduling, access to healthcare, and basic living standards. The report offers several specific recommendations, including raising the minimum wage, requiring paid sick days, requiring paid family leave, requiring fair scheduling, expanding Medicaid eligibility, and addressing basic living standards. Click here to read.
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She's not new to this, she's true to this. That's Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) protesting on the National Mall many years ago. | |  |
That sweet little baby face belongs to CAPAC Policy Advisor and Press Assistant Alton Wang. What a cutie!! | |
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| BLAH BLAH BLOG Serena Williams' First Move In Silicon Valley Is Asking About the Pay Gap (HuffPost)
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| FOMO Today, 5:30P: Vote It Loud sponsors the second annual Multicultural Media Correspondents Dinner at the National Press Club. By invitation only. Today, 6P: Reception and fundraiser in support of Ceasar Mitchell for Mayor of Atlanta. The City Club, 555 13th Street, N.W. RSVP to: meredith@ceasarmitchell.com
Today, 6:30P: The Native American Staff Association hosts a meet-and-greet. Romeo & Juliet Garden Cafe, 301 Massachusetts Avenue, NE. For questions contact: nativesonthehill@gmail.com
Today, 7P: Los Angeles Times publisher Davan Maharaj, author and journalist Richard Reeves, author and former Rafu Shimpo editor Naomi Hirahara, among others, participate in a roundtable discussion, "Media Coverage of the Japanese American Incarceration and its Lessons for the Trump Era." Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles. Click here for more information.
Tuesday, May 30th, 12:30P: The Center for Advancing Opportunity sponsors a forum, "A Promise Fulfilled? Examining Brown v. Board of Education On Its 63rd Anniversary." Thurgood Marshall College Fund Headquarters, 901 F Street, NW. Click here to RSVP. Wednesday, May 31st, 9A: The Raben Group hosts a policy breakfast with former Obama senior advisor Valerie Jarrett. 1341 G Street, NW. Click here to RSVP.
Wednesday, May 31st, 6P: Reception in support of Marilyn Mosby for Baltimore City State's Attorney. City Center, 875 10th Street, NW. RSVP to: mariko@marilynmosby.com
Wednesday, May 31st, 7P: The National Urban League sponsors a State of Black America Town Hall Watch Party. United Negro College Fund, 1805 7th Street, NW. Click here to RSVP.
Thursday, June 8th, 7P: STARZ sponsors the DC premiere of Season 4 of the series Power. Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. By invitation only. Friday, June 9th, 6P: BET Farewell DC party. 1235 W Street, NE. By invitation only. Monday, June 12th, 6:30P: Author Sheryll Cashin reads from her new book, Loving: Interracial Intimacy in America and the Threat to White Supremacy. Busboys & Poets, 14th & V streets, NW. Click here for more information.
Wednesday, June 14th, 9A: The Raben Group sponsors a policy breakfast with Vanita Gupta, incoming President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Click here to RSVP.
Thursday, June 15th, 8A: The Hill sponsors a Latina Leaders Summit. Participants include Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL). Click here to RSVP. Wednesday, June 21st, 6P: Reception and fundraiser for Kia Hamadanchy for Congress. 408 East Capitol Street, NE, RSVP at: info@KiaForOrangeCounty.com
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