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It appears the sunshine and warm weather have gone on recess. There’s a lot to get to today! Here’s your Friday read…
MoCs Call for Trump to Focus on Voter Suppression
MoCs Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Terri Sewell (D-AL), Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), and 51 other House members sent a letter to VP Mike Pence urging the Trump administration to cease its “investigation” into the voter fraud myth and instead investigate the widespread issue of voter suppression. Cummings hand-delivered the letter to the White House during his meeting with Trump on Wednesday. See the text of the letter here.
Trump Vows to Support Cummings on Drug Prices
But it wasn’t all bad when the pair met. Cummings said Trump is vowing to join forces with Democrats to grant the federal government more power when it comes to negotiating drug prices. Although such a push sets the stage for a clash between Trump and congressional Republicans, who have long opposed efforts by Democrats to allow Medicare to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies for lower prescription drug prices -- a power barred under current law. More here. NAACP LDF Gains Two Obama Alumni
James Cadogan, a member of former Attorney General Loretta Lynch's senior management team, has been named inaugural Director of the Thurgood Marshall Institute at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. And Melanie Newman, former Director of Public Affairs at DOJ, is also joining LDF in a new position as Chief Public Engagement and Communications Strategist. More here.
Trump’s Counsel’s Office Lacks Diversity
On Tuesday, Donald Trump named 26 members of the White House Counsel's Office who will serve under Counsel Donald F. McGahn II. Of the 26, one -- Makan Delrahim -- is an Iranian American. Another, Uttam Dhillon, is Indian American. Not a single African American or Latino was named. Given the issues this counsel will likely face, a lack of diversity isn’t helpful. For a full list of appointees, click here.
States Warn Millions Could Lose Coverage Under Obamacare Replacement
Now to the ACA. Democratic and Republican officials are warning Congress that millions will lose healthcare coverage if the House GOP’s proposal becomes law. Almost all governors and state executive officers who object to the GOP replacement plan hail from states that opted to accept federal funding to expand Medicaid under Obamacare. The Republican replacement would roll back funding for the Medicaid expansion, forcing states to either shoulder the billions of dollars in costs themselves or drop new Medicaid recipients from the rolls. More here.
Michelle Obama Surprises School Girls on International Women’s Day
Former First Lady Michelle Obama marked International Women’s Day with a surprise visit to 12 female students at the Francis L. Cardozo Education Campus in DC. Several of the young women are from the school’s international program for recent immigrants, including some from Africa and Latin America. The girls greeted FLOTUS44 with a chorus of “Oh my Gods (sic)!”After a round of hugs, Obama and the young students sat down to talk about education and their goals for the future. More here.
Dear Barack and Michelle Obama
But that’s not all. FLOTUS and POTUS 44 also celebrated International Women’s Day with a piece of fan mail that they shared on Medium. Barack Obama introduces the letter with this, “When Michelle and I came back from vacation, we found this note from a woman named Sindhu waiting for us. I’m proud of Michelle for the difference she made in this young woman’s life, and I’m inspired by Sindhu’s story -- so I thought I’d share it with you today.” Click here to read the letter.
Pérez and Ellison to Kickoff Turnaround Tour
DNC Chair Tom Pérez and DNC Deputy Chair Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) announced that they will kick off the Democratic Turnaround Tour starting March 24th with stops in Detroit and Flint, Michigan, before continuing to New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia. Additional states and locations will be added in the months to come. More here.
Bill to Block Federal Funding for Border Wall
Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI) introduced a bill to block the use of federal funds for Trump's border wall. The bill, named the No Taxpayer Funding for the Wall Act, reportedly has more than three dozen Democratic co-sponsors. Moore has noted that she is hoping to gain support from the many Republicans who are worried about counteracting the cost of the proposed border wall. More here.
Five States Sue Trump Admin Over Travel Ban
Democratic attorneys general in Hawaii, NY, Oregon, Washington state, and Massachusetts will try to block in court the Trump administration's revised executive order on travel, pushing for the temporary restraining order that halted the first order to remain intact. More here.
Cork Sues Trump
Another lawsuit to add to the pile. Cork Wine Bar owners Khalid Pitts and Diane Gross contend their Logan Circle business would be better off if not for a new player in town who they claim is operating with an unfair and illegal advantage: Donald Trump, owner of the $212 million Trump International Hotel that opened last fall. With support from a legal team headlined by the co-founder of Ralph Nader’s advocacy group, Gross and Pitts sued Trump and his DC hotel company Wednesday in Superior Court, alleging that the president’s continued ownership of the hotel constitutes unfair competition that damages their business. More here.
Rooney Rule Adopted
Senate Democrats have taken a formal step to codify their push for staff diversity in the Senate, approving new conference rules which encourage offices to use the NFL’s “Rooney Rule." Democratic offices are now formally encouraged to consider at least one minority candidate when interviewing for an open position. More here.
Capitol Hill Diversity by the Numbers
In December 2015, there were 336 top Senate staffers (Chiefs of Staff, Legislative Directors, Communications Directors, and Staff Directors), but only 24 staffers of color -- 12 Asian Americans, seven Latinos, three African Americans, and two Native Americans. The Joint Center offers this breakdown. Click here for more.
Homeland Security Cmte Names Minority Staff Director
Attorney Hope Goins has been named Minority Staff Director for the House Committee on Homeland Security under the leadership of Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS). She is Congressman Thompson’s top advisor on all matters related to oversight of the Department of Homeland Security and homeland security-related matters throughout the federal government. More about Hope here.
Pruitt’s Comments on Climate Change Outrages EPA Predecessors
In an interview with CNBC, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt strongly rejected the established science of climate change, sparking outrage from scientists, environmentalists, and Obama’s first EPA administrator Lisa Jackson. “The time for debate on climate change has passed,” said Jackson. “Certainty is what business needs. And relying on science is something that we do every single day. So now if we’re going to question science, I think it has an impact on more than just some federal rules, or some law, it has a huge impact on human health, the environment, and our economy.” More here.
EPA Environmental Justice Leader Resigns
And the hits keep coming. Mustafa Ali, a key environmental justice leader at the EPA, has resigned, saying that a recent budget proposal to defund such work would harm the people who most rely on the EPA. As a senior advisor and Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, Ali has served more than two decades at the agency, working to ease the burden of air and water pollution in hundreds of poor, minority communities nationwide. Ali’s departure comes as the White House is seeking to close the agency’s Office of Environmental Justice. More here.
Tall Order for Castro in TX
As Democratic Congressman Joaquín Castro mulls a challenge to Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, Democrats and Republicans both say it would be a tall order in a deep-red state with little Democratic power. But in this season of political upsets, anything is possible. More here.
Historic Moment Lost in St. Louis
St. Louis, a majority Black city, had the opportunity to elect its first African American female mayor. However, Tishara Jones lost her chance to make history by a mere 888 votes. There are 196,150 registered voters in St. Louis, but only 55,635 turned out. The Root writes, “Her loss shines the light on how sexism, racism and incompetence by Black political leadership continue to stymie black progress even in this age of 'resistance.'" Click here to read their take on this primary.
Civil Rights Groups Threaten to Sue NYC Over Voting Rights Violations
Asian American and Latino civil rights groups are among those threatening to sue New York state over allegations that its Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) failed to send voter registration applications it received to local election boards. The groups include AALDEF, Latino Justice PRLDEF, Demos, Project Vote, Voto Latino, and the Hispanic Federation, among others. More here.
Susan Rice Heads to American University
Ambassador Susan Rice has joined American University as a Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow in the School of International Service. During her residency at AU, Ambassador Rice will work primarily on her next book and mentor SIS students on careers in national security. More here.
Trouble for Tavis
PBS personality and political commentator Tavis Smiley has apparently ticked off one of his producers royally. Jacques Hyzagi, a producer for The Tavis Smiley Show, penned a no-holds-barred piece in The Observer where he details Tavis’ shortcomings as a talent, tawdry details of his love life, and his alleged sexism toward his female staff. We don’t know what’s verifiable and what may be conjecture. But it’s a page turner. Click here to read.
Rubio Booted
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) is being booted from a second Florida office due to rowdy protesters, this time in Jacksonville. Crowds opposed to Donald Trump’s agenda have gathered weekly in front of Rubio’s seven statewide office buildings, waving signs and calling out messages. Rubio had to clear out of his Tampa office last Friday, where he had been a tenant since 2014. More here.
Mexican Foreign Officials Head Straight to WH
On Thursday, Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray sidestepped the normal channels of the State Department and headed straight to the WH to meet with Jared Kushner, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and Gary Cohn, a top financial aide. Striking in its absence from that announcement was any mention of a meeting with officials from the State Department. More here.
First Lady of NYC Makes Headlines in DC
First Lady of NYC Chirlane McCray joined Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL) to discuss mental health for Black women & girls on Thursday. However, that’s not why she came up at the WH press briefing yesterday. A reporter asked WH Press Secretary Sean Spicer about McCray’s statement that "Donald Trump should keep his hands off women's bodies, women's healthcare, and Planned Parenthood, which has done just fine without President Trump's advice.” To which Spicer replied, "the President is very clear he's pro-life. We've worked with them to talk about making sure that there's a difference between taxpayer funding of abortion and women's health services." Click here to read the full reply.
Immigrants Crossing the Border Plunge 40%
The number of immigrants caught by Border Patrol agents as they attempt to cross the Southwest border has plunged dramatically, dropping 40% since Trump took office and signed sweeping executive orders to enforce immigration laws. Although there are often seasonal fluctuations -- fewer immigrants usually attempt to cross the border from Mexico into the U.S. in winter -- Border Patrol agents typically see a 10% to 20% surge of people making the journey in February. More here.
Black and Hispanic Women Are Paid Substantially Less Than White Men
The Economic Policy Institute compared the wages of white women and women of color with wages of white men and found that white and Asian women fare better than their Black and Hispanic counterparts. Compared to non-Hispanic white men, white non-Hispanic women are paid 81 cents on the dollar, and Asian women are paid 88 cents on the dollar. But the gap is much larger for Black and Hispanic women, who are paid only 65 cents and 59 cents, respectively, on the white male dollar. More here.
Wiggins Goes to Values Partnership
Nicholas Wiggins has joined Values Partnership (VP) as a Senior Consultant. Wiggins, a strategist, planner and executor extraordinaire, joins VP from the NAACP, where he assisted in the planning and execution of the NAACP Image Awards and the organization’s annual convention, and served as the lead on its NAACP Experience Expo and Leadership 500 Summit, in addition to developing external relations strategy for the chairman and board of directors. More here.
Latino State of the Union
On Monday, MALDEF will present the Latino State of the Union at the Time Warner Center in NYC. The keynote speaker will be CA Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Panelists will include MALDEF’s Thomas Sáenz, NCLR’s Janet Murguía, Latino Justice’s Juan Cartagena, and LCHCR’s Wade Henderson. More here.
Joint Center and Duke University Host on Economic Inequality
In conjunction with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Duke University is hosting a conference in DC from March 14th to the 17th that they are calling: Reflections on the Impact of the Reconstruction Amendments. The conference will be devoted to characterizing the state of knowledge and identification of critical new directions for research in the social and behavioral sciences, and on economic inequality in the context of the impact of the Reconstruction Amendments. Click here to register.
SXSW Opposes Trump’s Ban and Clarifies Artists Rules
SXSW is reaffirming their public opposition to Trump’s executive orders and is providing ongoing support to the artists traveling from foreign countries to the festivities this weekend. To reinforce that stance, they are changing the language in their artist letter and have assured performers and attendees that SXSW has not, does not, and will not, disclose an artist’s immigration status, except when required by law. To see other concessions, click here.
White House Easter Egg Roll
Remember the past eight years when everyone would clamor to get tickets to the White House Easter Egg Roll? Well POTUS and FLOTUS 45 have announced this year’s festivities will take place on Monday, April 17th. Given the heightened sensitivities around this administration’s many controversial stances, it will be interesting to see who, if any, will put partisan politics aside for a chance to take their little ones to the White House. More on the event here.
Ivanka Trump’s Landlord Is a Chilean Billionaire Suing the U.S. Government
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s opulent home in the tony Kalorama neighborhood is actually owned by Andrónico Luksic, a Chilean mining mogul who bought the place weeks earlier. Luksic is suing the federal government over the Obama administration’s decision to scrap a lucrative copper mining concession in a Montana wilderness area. Should he address this issue with his new tenants, it would violate ethics rules. Hence, people are watching. More here.
Spotted
Top 40 Latinos Under 40 in Foreign Policy
More than 160 Latinos in the political and foreign policy fields gathered Wednesday evening at The Raben Group to honor the 2016 “Top 40 Latinos Under 40 in Foreign Policy.” The group presented the first Ambassador Raymond L. Telles Trailblazer Award to Nathalie Rayes of Grupo Salinas for her work charting new paths for Latinos in the foreign policy field. Spotted: Featured speaker Ambassador Lino Gutiérrez, creator of the list Josué López Calderón, President of the Women’s Congressional Staff Association Eliza Ramírez, and many others.
Latino Coalition Luncheon
The Latino Coalition hosted a series of sessions for small businesses on Thursday, calling their gathering in downtown DC the 2017 Policy Summit "Making Small Business Great Again." Spotted: Featured speakers VP Mike Pence, SBA Administrator Linda McMahon, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, the White House's Jennifer Sevilla Korn; other attendees included Andeliz Castillo, Deputy Director of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs for Vice President Pence; Raúl Cisneros of the Census Bureau; former Deputy SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza; The Latino Coalition's Héctor Barreto, Manny Rosales, and Allen Gutiérrez; Tom Oliver of Capital Wire PR; Danny Vargas, Chair of the Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino; Ivette Fernández, José Niño, Jennice Fuentes, Adolfo Franco of the Direct Selling Association; Bridget Gonzáles Young of the Minority Business Development Agency; Neri Martínez, Director of the Future Majority Project at the Republican State Leadership Committee; The Hill's Diana Marrero; Daniel Garza of The LIBRE Initiative; Anaís Carmona of T-Mobile, Max Trujillo of MPT Policy, HLA's Larry González, The Raben Group's Zuraya Tapia.
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Videos of the Day
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| Is Brooklyn in the House? Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) pays tribute to fellow Brooklyn native Biggie Smalls on the House floor on Thursday.
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| Muhammad Ali, Jr. described his recent airport detention before an immigration panel convened by House Democrats. Ali and his mother, Khalilah Camacho Ali, are both pushing for passage of the End Racial Profiling Act.
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| After years of trying to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, congressional Republicans roll out a contentious healthcare bill of their own. Trevor Noah offers his take.
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| Forty-two years ago, more than 1.2 million refugees fled Southeast Asia and were resettled in the United States. But since 1998, almost 16,000 refugees received orders of removal -- 78 percent of which were based on old criminal records.
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| Chinese students at Columbia University in NYC were targeted by racist vandals who ripped the name tags bearing their Chinese names off dorm doors. So they made a video about what their Chinese name means to them.
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| Paul Harrison talks about his fiancé who is stuck in Iran -- where homosexuality is illegal -- due to Trump's executive order.
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| #HerVoiceIsMyVoice is a moment to celebrate and share the voices of inspirational women from around the world.
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| International Women's Day at the U.S. Capitol.
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| Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) gives a radio interview where she says Trump should "get ready for impeachment."
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Pics of the Day
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| FLOTUS 44 Michelle Obama surprises DC students on International Women's Day.
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| First Lady of NYC Chirlane McCray joined Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL) to discuss mental health for Black women & girls on Thursday.
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| Vanessa Moyonero and Melissa Guzmán of Solidarity Strategies meet Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) Thursday night.
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| Congressman Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) with Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards at the Energy & Commerce debate on the GOP's ACA replacement plan.
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| Héctor Barreto, chair of the Latino Coalition, at the coalition's 2017 Policy Summit, "Making Small Business Great Again" in DC.
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| Eliza Ramírez, Josué López Calderón, and Zuraya Tapia at the DC reception honoring the "Top 40 Latinos Under 40 in Foreign Policy" on Wednesday.
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| 2016 Honorees of the "Top 40 Latinos Under 40 in Foreign Policy" gather for a group pic at The Raben Group's reception Wednesday night.
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| Ambassador Raymond L. Telles Trailblazer Award honoree Nathalie Rayes, Ambassador Lino Gutiérrez, and Zuraya Tapia.
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| VP Mike Pence at the Latino Coalition policy summit in downtown DC on Thursday afternoon.
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| From left, Reps. Grace Napolitano, Jackie Speier, and Nancy Pelosi of California, Cheri Bustos of Illinois, Barbara Lee and Nanette Barragán of California, Nydia Velázquez of New York, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, and Michelle Luján Grisham of New Mexico wear red as they descend the House steps to support “A Day Without Women.” (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
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| A group of women gathered at the DNC on Thursday to hear from Indigenous Women Rise as they discussed more Native American women running for office.
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| Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY) speaks at the Queens Diversity Rally in NYC this week.
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Tuesday, March 21st, 6P: George Washington University Presents "Cornell Belcher A Black Man in the White House" with Cornell Belcher. RSVP here.
Friday, March 24th, 12P: The Congressional Staff Association Fair takes place in the Rayburn Foyer. The event is open to all current Senate and House staff.
Wednesday, March 29th, 1PM: The Latina Maternal and Child Health Project will be hosting a Congressional Staff Briefing in Cannon Room 122. It will be held in cooperation with the Congressional Caucus on Maternity Care.
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