Tuesday News: “The constitutional crisis is here”; “The Banana States of America”; “American Workers Just Got Screwed” by SCOTUS; Will We Finally Get Medicaid Expansion in Virginia?

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, May 22.

• Chances of China Trade Win Undercut by Trump Team Infighting
• The Trump Administration Calls on Iranians to “Make a Choice About Their Leadership”
• Mike Pompeo sets the stage for perpetual conflict with Iran
• Pompeo’s first official speech targets Iran, could have been written in 2011
• The Banana States of America (“By one key measure, it is now official: This is the most authoritarian Congress in history.”)
• The constitutional crisis is here
• Here are the political norms that Trump violated in just the past week (“Revealing intelligence sources…Politically motivated prosecutions…Mixing private and government business…Foreign interference in U.S. elections…Undermining the First Amendment.”)
• China Makes Massive Cut to Car Tariffs After Truce With Trump
• The Supreme Court Has Decided to Shut Workers Out of the Courthouse for Good (Never forget that this Supreme Court contains a stolen seat by the Republicans.)
• American Workers Just Got Screwed (“This is why Republicans hijacked Obama’s Supreme Court pick.”)
• The Memo: Trump flirts with constitutional crisis (“The Trump administration flirted with a constitutional crisis Monday before stepping back from the brink…A president instructing the DOJ to open a criminal probe at his behest would be a startling break with precedent, calling into question the independence of law enforcement from partisan politics.”)
• Trump v. the Department of Justice (“The president and his enablers are engaged in a campaign to undermine the foundations of American justice.”)
• DOJ, Trump reach deal on expanded Russia review (“President Trump and the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday reached an agreement to allow the inspector general to investigate conservative claims of FBI wrongdoing in the Russia probe, defusing at least for now a burgeoning crisis between the White House and senior law enforcement officials.”)
• 3 factors behind Trump’s cave on his China trade war
• Trump’s Latest FBI Attack Stuns, Saddens Justice Dept. Officials: ‘We’re in Venezuela’ (“‘You can’t overstate how critical it is that people who have information trust us to protect them,’ said a federal prosecutor, adding that Trump is working to break that trust.”)
• Exclusive: Peter Navarro pushed Stefan Halper for Trump job (“President Trump’s top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, recommended appointing Stefan Halper, an academic and suspected FBI informant on the Trump campaign, to a senior role in the Trump administration, Axios has learned.”)
• The American Republic Is Fighting for Its Life (“Trump has set in motion a constitutional crisis, having sold American foreign policy to the highest bidder.”)
• Garry Kasparov: Donald Trump Has More Russian Connections Than Aeroflot (“The chess champ and dissident sounds the gong again on Vladimir Putin’s manipulation of U.S. democracy.”)
• Rudy Giuliani keeps pretending to be Mueller’s spokesman. It’s not going well.
• Voters choose nominees in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Texas
• Democrats pour energy into turning Georgia blue — again
• Blankenship to wage third-party bid after losing primary
• Kim Jong-un Will Almost Surely Outwit Trump at Their Summit
• NRATV host blames ‘progressive culture and media’ for school shootings (Demented.)
• White House Official Rewards Paul Ryan’s Loyalty With Talk of Ousting Him as Speaker
• Trump Administration Joins Fossil Fuel Companies in Climate Fight Against Cities (Disgraceful and completely wrong as always.)
• For Now, We’ll Trust That Rod Rosenstein Is Playing the President* Like a Five-Cent Violin (“The indications are the Deputy AG is a crafty bureaucrat.”)
• There Is Only One Trump Scandal (“The myriad Trump scandals can obscure the fact that they’re all elements of one massive tale of corruption.”)
• Democrats Should Talk More About Trump (“The president’s rampant corruption should be the central issue of this year’s midterms.”)
• “In response to school shooting in Texas, Hugh Hewitt proposes a ban on trench coats” (Uhhhh…)
• Key House chairman floats changes to immigration bill (“The proposed changes would address areas that drew criticism in earlier drafts, particularly from business-minded conservatives and the agricultural sector. Still, the modified version would move the country’s immigration system toward the merit-based structure preferred by immigration hard-liners.”)
• The Most Important Races in Tuesday’s Primaries
• US stocks surge after US-China trade war truce
• Republican Leaders Will Be Allowed to See Some Information on Russia Investigation
• Stopping Americans for speaking Spanish: the latest evidence that Border Patrol agents have too much power (Out of control.)
• Meet the Democrat Who’s Not Giving Up on Rural, Working-Class Districts (Charlie Kelly “cut his teeth in Virginia politics, starting as the Richmond regional field director for Tim Kaine’s 2005 gubernatorial campaign.”)
• L. Preston Bryant Jr. column: Virginia’s infrastructure review process works. Let it keep working.
• Hanger, Jones reach budget deal over Medicaid expansion in Virginia (“The Senate meets at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday but there is still no scheduled time for the finance committee.”)
• Meet Virginians who would be helped by a Medicaid expansion
• A risky bet for Virginia
• Supreme Court to take up issue of whether Va. can ban uranium mine
• Editorial: General Assembly working toward openness (They have a loooong way to go.)
• Toll network that would stretch from Baltimore to Richmond gains corporate support
• Professor convicted of vandalizing NRA lobbyist’s home with fake blood (“A woman was found guilty Monday of spraying fake blood on the steps of the Alexandria, Va., home of National Rifle Association lobbyist Chris Cox in January. Patricia Hill, a sociology professor from Nebraska, was ordered to pay a $500 fine, not contact the Cox family, and stay 500 feet away from their home.”)
• Regan Fink: Power line will scar views of James River
• Williams: Henrico Supervisor Courtney Lynch has declared war on her colleagues. Why that’s a mistake. (Bizarre.)
• Independent candidate withdraws from 6th Congressional District race; endorses Democrat (“Frend has endorsed Jennifer Lewis, a mental health professional and natural gas pipeline opponent from Waynesboro”)
• Editorial: A proposed itinerary for Senator Janet Howell’s trip to Southwest Virginia
• Ex-candidate files ethics complaint against city council member (“Hunter, founder and former leader of the Peacemakers anti-violence group and a one-time associate of Garland’s, alleged Garland abused his position to influence city inspectors to harass a nonprofit run by another former council candidate, Grover Price.”)
• Third white supremacist found guilty of beating black man during Charlottesville protest (“Daniel Borden, 19, becomes the latest fascist found guilty of assaulting DeAndre Harris last year.”)
• Nutty Hangs Tough: Tree-Sitter Blocking Pipeline for 56 Days Is Being Starved by the Forest Service
• New protester blocks pipeline workers (“Woman plans to stay suspended over Giles County access road”)
• Alfonso Lopez Says Anonymous Threats Convinced Him to Request Police Presence at Indivisible Meeting
• Raging water at Great Falls, flooding at the Tidal Basin after last week’s deluge
• Nationals’ Juan Soto, 19, homers in first start; ‘special,’ Bryce Harper says
• A physical Capitals team runs over Lightning and forces decisive Game 7
• Showers and storms return before a drier, warmer rest of week