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WaPo broke major news yesterday afternoon that Donald Trump "revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador” in a WH meeting last week. The article notes, "Trump went off script and began describing details of an Islamic State terrorist threat related to the use of laptop computers on aircraft." Reportedly, sharing this information violated the trust of an unnamed key ally, and national security experts say the cost could be deadly. Next came the obligatory carefully worded denials the country has come to expect from this administration. This morning, after his team denied that the president shared any classified details, Donald Trump tweeted that he can share details if he wants. These are abnormal times. Meanwhile, there’s still the business of healthcare and tax reform being hashed out on the Hill. And yesterday, Hillary Clinton launched Onward Together, a new political action group. Here’s what’s happening this Tuesday:- Barack Obama says not bombing Syria took political courage.
- Some in Puerto Rico are advocating for statehood.
- The DOJ is opening an investigation into the killing of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards.
- The lawyer stating the case against Trump's travel ban, who happens to be of Indian descent, has argued more cases in front of SCOTUS second only to Thurgood Marshall. We've got his story.
- Sandra Bland legislation gutted in the TX Senate.
- Another voter suppression effort got the smack down yesterday.
- Black Dems are ready to make America great again.
- A Latino judge is being considered to lead the FBI.
- Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY) wants to honor Chinese railroad workers.
- South Korea has a new president. And his bodyguard is bae all day.
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LaMell McMorris delivered the commencement address at St. Augustine University on Saturday. The HBCU presented the founder of Perennial Strategy Group and Perennial Sports with an honorary doctorate degree. | |  |
Gayle King rocks a new look following a trip to London. | |
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Obama says Not Bombing Syria Took Political Courage
In an interview with the grandson of the late President John F. Kennedy, President Barack Obama singled out his decision not to bomb Syria as a moment that required political courage.“I actually think that the issue that required the most political courage was the decision not to bomb Syria after the chemical weapons use had been publicized and rather to negotiate them removing chemical weapons from Syria,” Obama said in the interview. “Now, we know subsequently that some remained, so it was an imperfect solution. But what we also know is that 99 percent of huge chemical weapons stockpiled were removed without us having to fire a shot.” He went on to say, “The reason it was hard was because, as president, what you discover is that you generally get praised for taking military action, and you’re often criticized for not doing so. And it wasn’t a slam dunk, but I thought that it made sense for a variety of reasons for us to see if we could actually try to eliminate the prospect of large-scale chemical weapons use rather than the political expedience of a one-time shot.” More here.
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Latino Judge Among Those Being Considered to Lead FBI
Despite rumors that controversial Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke was being considered to lead the FBI, he was not among the persons being interviewed on Saturday by the Trump administration. But another person of color did make the list. NY Judge Michael J. García was among four candidates who interviewed with AG Jeff Sessions and Deputy AG Rod. J. Rosenstein. If nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, García would become the first Latino in history to lead the FBI. García currently serves as an associate judge on the New York State Court of Appeals. Pedro J. Torres-Díaz, president of the Hispanic National Bar Association, told NBC Latino that he was glad to hear that Garcia was being considered for such a high-profile position. "I think this is indeed an example of how there are well-qualified Latinos and Latinas in our legal profession that can occupy important positions in the Cabinet and at other high levels," he said. More here.
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| The Beat DC Podcast:
What to do when the elected official you work for is lying to you?
This week, Jamal Simmons spoke with former DOJ official NAACP-LDF’s Melanie Newman about the current administration and how, as a spokesperson, one should handle defending lies to the team and/or to the public. Click on the image to get a preview of Newman discussing the Trump administration’s challenges with truthfulness. Download the full podcast here.
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DOJ Opens Probe in the Killing of Unarmed Black Teen
The DOJ has opened an investigation into a white police officer's fatal shooting of an unarmed Black teenager in the Dallas area, a spokeswoman for the local district attorney's office said on Thursday. Reuters reports that Roy Oliver, a white man, was fired after he shot and killed Jordan Edwards on April 29th. Oliver, along with another officer, had responded to reports of underage drinking at a house party in Balch Springs, a predominantly Black and Hispanic city about 15 miles from Dallas, according to court papers. More here.
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Sandra Bland Act Gets Gutted in Texas Senate
The sister of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old woman who was found dead in her Texas jail cell in July 2015, is furious over the “gut-wrenching” ways she says a criminal justice reform bill created in Bland’s honor has been drastically weakened by law enforcement groups and Republicans. HuffPo reports that the latest version of the legislation, which unanimously passed the Texas Senate last week, has been stripped of provisions that would require a higher burden of proof for stopping and searching vehicles, as well as those that would ban arrests over offenses that are punishable by a fine. An earlier version of the bill also required officers who have racially profiled drivers to undergo training and included language to make personal bonds more easily attainable for non-violent arrestees. Instead, the bill has been slimmed down to focus on providing mental health and de-escalation training for jailers. More here.
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HACR's Cid Wilson enjoyed an entire Amtrak car to himself on Sunday as he was on his way to NJ to see his mom. | |  |
UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is very excited to have her daughter home as they visit a cookie dough shop on Saturday. | |
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The Man Fighting the Trump Admin in the Courts
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday heard arguments on whether Trump’s revised travel ban violates a constitutional prohibition against religious discrimination. A decision may not come down for weeks. In the interim, we wanted to learn more about the lawyer arguing against the Trump administration and on behalf of the state of Hawaii. Neal Katyal, a partner at Hogan Lovells and a Professor of National Security Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. Katyal, a graduate of Yale Law School, has served as Acting Solicitor General of the United States, and previously worked in the DOJ. With the exception of Thurgood Marshall, Katyal has argued more Supreme Court cases than any other minority lawyer in U.S. history. In January, he penned an op-ed for the NYT supporting Trump’s SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch. For a comprehensive recap of yesterday's proceedings, click here.
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SCOTUS Says “Boy Bye” to Strict NC Voter ID Law
SCOTUS announced on Monday that it would stay out of a fight over a restrictive North Carolina voting law. The move left in place a federal appeals court ruling that struck down key parts of the law as an unconstitutional effort to “target African Americans with almost surgical precision.” As is the court’s custom, the justices gave no reason for declining to hear the case. In December, state officials asked the Supreme Court to hear their appeal in the case, North Carolina v. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP. Two months later, in an unusual last-minute procedural maneuver, two newly elected Democratic officials -- Governor Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein -- asked the court to dismiss the state’s petition seeking review. Which, it appears, they have. More here from the NYT.
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FCC Flooded With Reaction to Repealing Net Neutrality
Roll Call reports that more than 1.2 million comments on net neutrality have flooded into the Federal Communications Commission in the two weeks since the agency proposed a rollback of the Obama-era open Internet regulations, which requires that all Internet traffic be treated the same. The outpouring of public sentiment, both pro and con, promises to match or exceed the roughly four million comments filed over several months prior to the FCC’s 2015 net neutrality rulemaking, which required internet providers to treat customers equally in terms of price and connection speeds. The FCC is scheduled to vote May 18th to proceed with the proposed rulemaking to repeal net neutrality, almost a foregone conclusion given the agency’s 2-1 Republican majority. Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Michael O’Rielly strongly opposed the net neutrality regulation when it was implemented two years ago. More here.
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Congresswoman Norma Torres (D-CA) kicking off the City of Pomona's Beautification Day on Saturday. | |  |
Omorosa posed with some Bethune-Cookman grads last week, where she was also booed along with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. | |
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Captain Duckworth
Roll Call reports that Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) will serve as captain of the wheelchair team in the 36th-annual ACLI Capital Challenge tomorrow. It’s part of a pledge she made to herself after losing her legs while serving in Iraq. “My recovery goal wasn’t just to get by -- it was to go beyond what I thought I could ever do. That’s why it’s important for me to participate in events like this one and it’s why I’ve done four marathons,” said Duckworth. The senator competed in her first Chicago Marathon just four years after losing her legs when her helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004. She completed it in two hours, 26 minutes and 31 seconds. She has since competed in three more Chicago marathons. The ACLI Capital Challenge’s cause is also close to the senator’s heart -- the three-mile run at Anacostia Park raises money for the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, which pairs guide dogs with people with disabilities, often war veterans. More here.
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Meng and Royce Call for Stamp to Honor Chinese Railroad Workers
Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY) and Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA) reintroduced bipartisan legislation last Thursday calling on the postal service to issue a stamp that honors the Chinese workers who built the transcontinental railroad nearly 150 years ago. While building the transcontinental railroad, thousands of Chinese migrants braved harsh winters and brutal conditions laying down track, blasting through granite, and digging through steep terrain, according to the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project at Stanford University. "The story of the Chinese railroad workers and the tremendous contributions they made to the growth and prosperity of our country must be told," Meng said in a statement. "They deserve the recognition they earned, and a commemorative postage stamp would be a very appropriate tribute to this important part of American history." More here.
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| Scott and Davis Launch Legislative Campaign to Promote Higher Education
Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), the ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, and Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-CA), the ranking member of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, on Monday launched “Aim Higher,” a legislative campaign where House Dems will put forth policy solutions to make higher education work for all students. Scott says higher education can mean “the difference between a minimum wage job that barely keeps one afloat and a job with a living wage, long-term career prospects, and employer benefits that lead to financial stability.” The campaign will focus on three policy areas: access, affordability, and completion. Learn more here.
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Congressman Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) received an official Bronx afghan on Saturday created by the Bronx County Historical Society. | |  | Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) celebrated Sacramento’s rail history last week. | |
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Black Dems Making Waves Across the Country
From Stacy Abrams launching a gubernatorial bid in Georgia to Andrew Gillum raising over a million dollars in his race to be governor of Florida, The Beat has been tracking politicos of color across the country. The NYT reports on a phalanx of young Black leaders in the Democratic Party that is striding into some of the biggest elections of 2018, staking early claims on governorships and channeling the outcry of rank-and-file Democrats who favor all-out battle with Trump and increasingly question his legitimacy as president. They include Quentin and Stefanie Brown James’ Collective PAC, commentator Symone Sanders, Dem strategist Jeff Johnson, candidates Ben Jealous and Rushern Baker (both exploring MD gubernatorial runs), Setti Warren (running for Governor of MA), and Carl Brewer (running for Governor of KS). Read the full article here.
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In the center of all those faces is Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) who keynoted the ACE Awards in Greenville, SC on Saturday honoring students who have overcome hardships to become leaders. | |  |
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY), reality TV personality Yandy Smith Harris, and Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL) at a Black Women At Work Brooklyn forum on Monday night. | |
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| Philadelphia Sues Wells Fargo for Allegedly Discriminating Against Minority Borrowers
The city of Philadelphia on Monday sued Wells Fargo on allegations of discriminating against minority home buyers. WaPo reports that the complaint filed in a federal court in Pennsylvania alleges that Wells Fargo violated the Fair Housing Act of 1968 by “steering” minority borrowers into mortgages that were more expensive and riskier than those offered to white borrowers. The complaint says that between 2004 and 2014, African American borrowers were twice as likely to receive high-cost loans when compared to white borrowers with similar credit backgrounds. Latino borrowers were 1.7 times as likely to receive costly loans when compared to white borrowers, the lawsuit claims. More here.
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ACLU Report Highlights How Bail Bond Companies Profit from Criminal Justice System
Last Thursday, the ACLU released a report that showed how bail bond companies both weaken and profit from the criminal justice system -- by keeping poor people in debt even after they've been cleared of charges. The $14 billion-a-year bail bond industry, underwritten by nine large insurance companies, including some owned by multinational corporations, perpetuates a system in which people who can't afford bail remain in jail before trial. This leaves them with a choice between borrowing money or staying locked up, the ACLU said. That cycle of poverty and jail makes the for-profit bail system indefensible, according to Udi Ofer, director of the ACLU's Campaign for Smart Justice, which assembled the report with the criminal justice reform group Color of Change. More here.
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Native Americans Chart Course Forward Within Democratic Party in Age of Trump
An editorial for Indian Country examines how Native Americans move forward in the era of Donald Trump. Yvette Joseph, a long-time Democratic Native political advocate who served as a delegate for Clinton for the second time this past election, agrees that changes within the Democratic Party are necessary. She says that two critical components of moving forward will be to enlist more Native people to embrace being part of the Democratic Party and to encourage tribal governments to change their elections to coincide with major federal and state election dates so that more Indians vote in national elections. More here.
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Obama alumni Valerie Jarrett and Tina Tchen, with young literary activist Markey Emerson Dias at the Network Women's Foundation last week. | |  |
Trump surrogate Paris Dennard with his mom on Sunday. | |
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CAPAC Profiled by NBC
NBC Asian America profiles the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC). Since their founding in 1994 by then-Congressman Norman Mineta (D-CA), CAPAC has grown from a handful of lawmakers to the 50 lawmakers it counts today as members. According to the Census, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Native Hawaiians account for about 6.6 percent of the U.S. population. They remain the fastest-growing racial group in the country. The 115th Congress has 18 members who are AAPI, a record high. CAPAC Chair Judy Chu (D-CA) says immigration reform remains one of the caucus’ top priorities. CAPAC's last founding member of Asian descent still in Congress is Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), whose maternal grandfather is of Filipino ancestry. More here.
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DOT Staffer Heads to Charleston
On Monday, Randall Keith Benjamin announced he was leaving the Department of Transportation. He will be heading to Charleston, SC to be Mayor John Tecklenburg's Director of Transportation. Benjamin came to DC as a CBCF Emerging Leader Intern for former Congressman Kendrick Meek (D-FL) and has since done stints at the DNCC, Obama for America, and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership network. With wife and newborn son in tow, he will start his new job on June 5th. More about Benjamin here.
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Puerto Rico Gov. Pushing to Become 51st State
NYT reports that Puerto Rico has entered a new and exotic version of bankruptcy, facing a staggering $123 billion in debt and pension obligations. Now the governor and others on the struggling Caribbean commonwealth want to persuade Washington it is ready to become the 51st American state. When advised that this is a seemingly impossible feat, they have a response. “That’s what they told the Blacks,” an indignant Ramón Rosario Cortés, Puerto Rico’s Public Affairs Secretary and a member of the island's pro-statehood party, said in an interview last week. “That they were wasting their time attending the marches of Martin Luther King Jr. because nobody was ever going to hear the cry of the people!” A vigorous push for statehood was a central campaign promise of Governor Ricardo Rosselló, who took office in January and is from the island's pro-statehood party. Next month, he will ask residents to vote in a non-binding referendum, for statehood as part of a long-term fix for a commonwealth facing a period of severe austerity that is likely to include shuttered public schools, frozen salaries, slashed pensions and crimped investments in public health. Voters will have a choice among statehood and other options in that vote. The island remains in the grip of a recession that has lingered for much of the past decade. More here.
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Melissa Harris Perry posing with a friend at Wake Forest University's graduation on Saturday. | |  |
Rubén Kihuen (D-NV) helped inaugurate the American Afghan South Asian Middle Eastern Chamber of Commerce in Las Vegas on Saturday. | |
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Gun Sales Increase Among African Americans in Trump Era
NBC’s Trymaine Lee examines the rise of gun sales among African Americans in the age of Trump. While no agency or group keeps track of gun sales by race, interviews with firearms dealers and gun clubs across the country strongly suggest a sharp rise in the number of African Americans buying guns since Trump's election. His reporting found that many are walking into gun shops to arm themselves out of fear that Trump's election has rekindled old racial flames, emboldening white supremacists and stoking tension between the races. Owners of gun ranges say first-time Black gun buyers are flocking in, filling open seats in gun-safety and concealed-carry classes, and diversifying the ranks of enthusiasts, who tend to be older white males. More here.
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High Blood Pressure Linked To Racial Segregation In Neighborhoods
Living in racially segregated neighborhoods is associated with a rise in the blood pressure of Black adults, while moving away from segregated areas is associated with a decrease — and significant enough to lead to reductions in heart attacks and strokes, a National Institutes of Health study has found. The findings, reported in the May issue of JAMA Internal Medicine, offer further evidence that policies to reduce residential racial segregation may have meaningful health benefits, especially for African Americans, who suffer the highest rates of hypertension of any group in the United States. More here.
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South Korea’s Bodyguard Bae
After a year-long scandal surrounding South Korea’s former president, the country this week finally swore in their new leader, Moon Jae-in. Moon represents a turning point for the country, whose government was embroiled in a high-profile corruption scandal. But what a lot of people are talking about instead is Choi Young-jae, the new president’s hot bodyguard. Photos of the bodyguard’s chiseled face and intense stare have gone viral as fans swoon over how handsome he is (take that Steve Harvey!). But everyone will have to settle for Twitter pics. Choi is married with two daughters. More here.
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| FOMO Thursday, May 18th, 3P: A congressional briefing on "Middle Neighborhoods," community areas on the edge between growth and decline. 2360 Rayburn.
Wednesday, May 24th, 9A: The Raben Group sponsors a policy breakfast with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). 1341 G St, NW. Click here to RSVP.
Wednesday, May 24th, 6:45P: CAMBA sponsors an Asian Pacific American Heritage Month event at the Washington office of Hogan Lovells, featuring Khizr Khan, noted speaker at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. The event will also feature a panel discussion focusing on the challenges facing the Asian American community. Click here to register. Thursday, May 25th: Vote It Loud sponsors the second-annual Multicultural Media Correspondents Dinner at the National Press Club. By invitation only.
Thursday, June 8th, 6P: The Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and the school's Washington Alumni Council sponsor a panel, "Black America in the Era of Trump." 1725 I Street, NW, Suite 100. Click here to purchase tickets.
Thursday, June 15th, 8A: The Hill sponsors a Latina Leaders Summit. Participants include Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL). Click here to RSVP.
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