CALENDAR:

The House and Senate are both in recess, and will not return until September 9.

LAST WEEK ON THE HOUSE FLOOR:

The House was in recess last week.

THIS WEEK ON THE HOUSE FLOOR:

The House is in recess until September 9.

LAST WEEK ON THE SENATE FLOOR:

The Senate came back to work on Monday, and took up the veto messages from the President on the arms sales resolutions that were passed the previous week. The first three votes of the week were attempts to override the President’s vetoes. All three failed to garner the two-thirds majority necessary, so all three vetoes were sustained.

Then the Senate began taking up nominations. Between Monday night and late Wednesday afternoon, the Senate confirmed the following people to the following positions:

• Michael T. Liburdi to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Arizona
• Peter D. Welte to be U.S. District Judge for the District of North Dakota
• James Wesley Hendrix to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas. Anticipating your question, no, I have no idea if Judge Hendrix goes by “Jimi.”
• Sean D. Jordan to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas.
• Mark T. Pittman to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas.
• Jeffrey Vincent Brown to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas.
• Brantley Starr to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas.
• Jason K. Pulliam to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Texas.
• Martha Maria Pacold to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.
• William Shaw Stickman to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
• Kelly Craft to be Ambassador of the United States to the United Nations and Representative to the Security Council.

The Senate came back in on Thursday morning and took up H.R. 3877, the budget-busting spending agreement. First up was Sen. Rand Paul’s amendment, described as a “cut, cap and balance” amendment that would impose a 10-year topline budget that would institute new budget caps, reducing spending by two percent per year for the next ten years, and require Congress to send to the states a Balanced Budget Amendment for ratification before it can raise the debt ceiling by $500 billion.

The Paul amendment was rejected, by a vote of 23-70. For those keeping score at home, the 23 champions of fiscal discipline on this exercise were Senators Barrasso, Blackburn, Braun, Cornyn, Crapo, Cruz, Daines, Enzi, Ernst, Fischer, Johnson, Kennedy, Lankford, Lee, Moran, Paul, Risch, Romney, Rubio, Sasse, Scott of SC, Toomey, and Young.

Then the Senate voted to invoke cloture on H.R. 3877, and then the Senate voted on H.R. 3877 itself. The spending agreement passed, by a vote of 67-28. The 28 “no” votes were not all Republicans – Democrats Michael Bennet, Tom Carper, Amy Klobuchar, Joe Manchin, and Jon Tester voted against the bill. The Republican “no” votes were Blackburn, Braun, Cassidy, Cotton, Cruz, Daines, Enzi, Fischer, Gardner, Hawley, Johnson, Kennedy, Lankford, Lee, Paul, Risch, Romney, Rubio, Sasse, Scott of FL, Scott of SC, Tillis, and Toomey.

Interestingly, there were several Republican Senators who voted FOR the Paul amendment, but also voted FOR the spending agreement. They were Sens. Barrasso, Cornyn, Ernst, Moran, and Young. And there were even Republican Senators who voted AGAINST the Paul amendment, but also voted AGAINST the spending deal. They were Sens. Cassidy, Cotton, Gardner, Hawley, Scott of FL, and Tillis.

And then they were done.

THIS WEEK ON THE SENATE FLOOR:

The Senate is in recess this week.

BORDER SECURITY/IMMIGRATION:

A new Hill-HarrisX poll released last Monday shows that a plurality of voters, 41 percent, favor criminal prosecutions for those who cross the U.S. border illegally, as opposed to 32 percent who said they believed a civil fine was the appropriate remedy.

Not surprisingly, partisan divisions were evident. A strong majority of Republicans – 67 percent – support criminal prosecution, while just 24 percent of Democrats said the same. Among Independents, the numbers were closer, but criminal prosecution was still favored by a plurality over a civil fine, 36 to 33 percent.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed S. 1494, the “Secure and Protect Act of 2019,” Chairman Lindsey Graham’s asylum reform bill, over loud protests from committee Democrats. The Democrats were upset that Graham would not allow consideration of any Democrat amendments. Graham countered that the bill had originally been scheduled for committee consideration the previous week, but only one Democrat had showed up for the hearing, thereby denying him the ability to discuss the legislation.

The bill would remove several protections for migrant children and raise the bar for obtaining asylum in the United States. The bill seeks to modify the 1997 Flores Agreement by raising the 20-day limit for holding an illegal immigrant child in custody to 100 days. Graham believes the legislation can be folded into the appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security. Democrat leader Chuck Schumer assured him that would not happen. We’ll see.

IMPEACHMENT:

Don’t look now, but impeachment is about to become a thing.

Since former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony on July 24, 23 Democratic members of the House have added their names to the list of those supporting the opening of an impeachment inquiry. The list now stands at 118, which is significant – that’s more than half the Democratic caucus in the House.

This is happening despite the fact that majorities of the electorate oppose the opening of such an impeachment inquiry. In the most recent Quinnipiac University survey, for instance, 60 percent of respondents said they don’t support beginning the process to impeach the president.

Nevertheless, the pressure on House Democrats is going to increase over the next month. Four progressive groups – Indivisible, MoveOn, Need to Impeach, and Stand Up America – are launching a joint campaign over the August recess to focus on members of the House Democratic leadership and the Judiciary Committee who haven’t yet announced their support for an impeachment inquiry.

RUSSIA HOAX:

Though the Department of Justice Inspector General’s report on the matter still hasn’t been released – and we’ve been told now to expect it sometime in September – leaks reveal that the Justice Department has concluded that former FBI Director James Comey violated the law by leaking classified information, but will not face criminal indictment for his actions.

Comey has said from the start that he believed the memos he wrote detailing his conversations with President Trump to be his personal property, rather than official FBI records, and he said he believed he was free to use them outside his government service.

Wrote The Wall Street Journal, “The exact reason for the decision not to prosecute is unclear, but typically the Justice Department doesn’t bring such cases unless prosecutors can prove some intent to violate the laws governing the handling of classified information. Mr. Comey himself publicly outlined that standard when he announced in 2016 that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her aides wouldn’t face charges over mishandling classified information in email messages stored on her personal email server.”

So, the new standard for criminal prosecution appears to be whether or not you believed you were committing a crime at the time you committed the crime. Remember that, all you who are considering robbing a bank – if and when you get caught, you simply say, “I didn’t think it was a crime to rob a bank.” And look very serious when you say it. And maybe that will work for you, too.

SOCIALISM:

On Monday, Montana Senator Steve Daines introduced S.Res. 289, “a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that socialism poses a significant threat to freedom, liberty, and economic prosperity.”

The text is relatively short. It says:

Whereas Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines socialism as—

(1) “any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods”; and

(2) “a system of society or group living in which there is no private property”;

Whereas socialism and the policies advocated by self-described “democratic socialists” have an underlying historical connection to the Marxist theory;

Whereas history has witnessed countless failed Marxist-inspired regimes;

Whereas, because of the perverse incentives and inherent flaws of the Marxist theory, socialism inevitably leads to societal rot, resulting in devastation, economic poverty, and destruction;

Whereas prominent elected officials in the Senate and the House of Representatives are self-described socialists and espouse socialist proposals;

Whereas socialist policies such as the Green New Deal and socialized medicine would—

(1) eliminate the private property rights of all people of the United States; and

(2) force taxpayers to pay trillions of dollars to implement;

Whereas Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, “Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.”;

Whereas Margaret Thatcher once stated, “Socialist governments … always run out of other people’s money”, and thus the way to prosperity is for the state to give “the people more choice to spend their own money in their own way”;

Whereas free-market capitalism is the greatest engine for human advancement in the history of the world, bringing more people out of poverty and into prosperity than any economic model in the history of mankind;

Whereas the United States is the single greatest country in the history of the world, due in large part to its system of government that secures the private property rights of all citizens through the genius of the Constitution of the United States; and

Whereas, on February 5, 2019, in the State of the Union address, President Donald J. Trump declared—

(1) “We are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country”; and

(2) “America will never be a socialist country”: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate—

(1) acknowledges that Marxism and socialism are failed ideologies;

(2) recognizes that socialism poses a significant threat to the freedom, liberty, and economic prosperity of all countries and people around the world;

(3) accepts that socialism is a failed experiment of governance that inevitably ends in misery and suffering;

(4) declares that, throughout the history, tradition, and national civic spirit of the United States, the United States has been a beacon of light shining like a lighthouse to the rest of the world, demonstrating that freedom and liberty are the surest foundation of government; and

(5) affirms that the United States should never be a socialist country.

By the end of the week, the Daines resolution had picked up only one cosponsor – Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn.

SPENDING:

On Thursday, the Senate passed H.R. 3877, lifting the debt ceiling for two years and busting the Budget Control Act’s sequester spending levels by more than $320 billion in FY 2020 spending. On Friday, President Trump signed the bill into law.

This bill did not appropriate a single penny. It is not a spending bill. It is merely a budget guidance reflecting what the congressional leaders of both parties in both chambers have agreed to spend in broad generalities. Congress will still have to pass the spending bills that fund government operations – either individually, as is preferred, or in some combination or combinations. Those bills will have to be passed by September 30, or the affected government agencies will have to shut down. But Congress won’t be back until September 9, and then will only have three weeks before the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, so I expect we’re going to see a short-term Continuing Resolution that will fund the government for another 30 or even 60 days, to keep the government open and running while the appropriators finish their work.

STAFFING:

On Friday, after five days of pummeling, President Trump and Congressman John Ratcliffe decided not to go forward with a nomination of Ratcliffe to replace Dan Coats as Director of National Intelligence. Trump tweeted the announcement less than five days after he first announced his intent to nominate Ratcliffe to the position. Ratcliffe’s marks the 35^th Trump nomination to a major position that was withdrawn after its announcement.

SUGGESTED READING:

JENNY BETH MARTIN/TEA PARTY PATRIOTS:

Breitbart: Jenny Beth Martin: When It Comes To Potential Judicial Nominees, Must We Be Chasing Amy?

BORDER SECURITY/IMMIGRATION:

Hill: Plurality Backs Criminal Prosecution For Illegal Border Crossings

WaPo: Mexico Touts 39% Reduction In Central American Migrants Traveling Through To US

Hill: #LeningradLindsey Trends After Graham Forces Asylum Bill Through Senate Committee

Hill: Graham Threat To Bust Panel Rules Roils Senate Tensions

WE: Immigration Top 2020 Issue, 3 To 1 Over Health Care, ‘Illegals Affect My Life’

Washington Times: Trump Racks Up Wins In Battle To Contain Surge At Border

RC: Senate Panel Advances Asylum Bill over Democratic Objections

IMPEACHMENT:

Politico: Schumer Defers To Pelosi On Impeachment

Politico: Majority of House Democrats Now Support Impeachment Inquiry

BuzzFeed: Progressive Groups Plan To Make House Democrats’ Summer Vacation All About Impeachment

NYDN: NY Rep. Eliot Engel Says Pelosi’s Reluctance on Impeachment Will ‘Change,’ Predicts Formal Inquiry Is Imminent

WT: ‘Minds Were Not Changed’: Trump Impeachment Push Stalls Among Voters After Mueller Hearing

RUSSIA HOAX:

Hill: James Comey’s Next Reckoning Is Imminent, This Time For Leaking

Hill: White House: Chris Wray’s FBI Continues To Cover For Comey’s Russia Shenanigans

CNN: Justice Department Won’t Prosecute James Comey Despite Watch Dog Referral

NYT: Justice Department Declines To Prosecute Comey Over Memos About Trump

WSJ: Justice Department Won’t Prosecute Comey for Releasing Classified Information

SOCIALISM:

Fed: Sen. Steve Daines Proposes Resolution Condemning ‘Disastrous Policies’ of Socialism

DW: GOP Senator Introduces Resolution Declaring America Will Never Be a Socialist Country

Hill: GOP Senator Introduces Resolution To Formally Condemn Socialism

Fox News: Daines To Introduce Resolution Condemning Socialism, Saying Pivotal Moment Has Arrived

SPENDING:

Hill: Senate Passes Sweeping Budget Deal, Sending It To Trump

WSJ: Senate Passes Two Year Spending Deal That Suspends Debt Ceiling

National Journal: Freshman GOP Senators Buck McConnell, Trump On Budget

Politico: Senate Passes Massive 2-Year Budget Deal

Politico: Fearing Defections, Trump And McConnell Crank Up Pressure On Budget Vote

Hill: The 23 Republicans Who Opposed Trump’s Budget Deal

Hill: Senate Passes Sweeping Budget Deal, Sending It To Trump

Politico: Senate Passes Massive 2-Year Budget Deal

WaPo: ‘We’re Like Thelma And Louise’ Republicans Shrug At Deficits Under Trump

Sen. Rand Paul’s Cut, Cap, and Balance Amendment to H.R. 3877

Hill: Trump Signs Two-Year Budget Deal

STAFFING:

NYT: Trump’s Pick For Top Intelligence Post Overstated Parts Of His Biography

Politico: Trump’s Spy Chief Pick An Unknown Commodity Among Senate GOP

Hill: Top Democrat: ‘Disqualifying’ If Trump Intel Pick Padded His Resume

Hill: Trump Withdraws Ratcliffe as Intelligence Pick

NRO: Trump Pulls John Ratcliffe’s Director of National Intelligence Nomination

2020 DEMOCRATS:

WaPo: Democrats Pull No Punches On Second Night Of Debate

WaPo: Wednesday’s Presidential Debate Turns On Character ASs Much As Ideology, A Foreboding Turn For Democrats

Politico: Democrats Brawl Over ‘Medicare For All’ During Debate

WaPo: Evolution Or Revolution: Democrats Ideological Divisions Broke Into The Open In Their Detroit Brawl

NYT: Sanders And Warren Battle Accusations Of ‘Fairy Tales’ Promises As Intraparty Rift Flares

Axios: Democrats Sound Alarm On ‘Massive’ GOP Advantage In 2020

Politico: ‘Rage-Filled Democratic Party’ Trump Jabs At Progressives

MISCELLANEOUS:

WaPo: House Republican Retirements Reflect Transformation Of Party In Trump Era

AP News: US-Russia Arms Control Treaty Dies; US To Test New Weapon

Breitbart: Exclusive GOP House Campaign Arm Launches National Ad Highlighting Socialists Burglarizing America

Hill: House GOP Fears Retirement Wave Will Lead To Tsunami

Politico Magazine: The GOP’s Challenge In 2020? Don’t Make It About Trump

Politico DCCC Faces Mass Staff Upheaval After Uproar Over Diversity

Fox New: Swing-State Households Would Lose At Least $70G Within First Year Of Green New Deal, Study Finds

WE: Seattle Software Tech Arrested In Capital One Data Breach Affecting 106 Million

Bloomberg: Cruz Pushes Mnuchin For Quick Action On Capital Gains Tax Break

WaPo: US Preparing To Withdraw Thousands Of Troops From Afghanistan In Initial Deal With Taliban

WaPo: Exclusive: Mike Pompeo Says Good Riddance To The INF Treaty

Hill: The House Republicans and Democrats Not Seeking Reelection in 2020

NYT: Kenny Marchant Will Be Fourth Texas Republican Congressman To Retire in 2020

NDAR:

The House and Senate are both in recess, and will not return until September 9.

LAST WEEK ON THE HOUSE FLOOR:

The House was in recess last week.

THIS WEEK ON THE HOUSE FLOOR:

The House is in recess until September 9.

LAST WEEK ON THE SENATE FLOOR:

The Senate came back to work on Monday, and took up the veto messages from the President on the arms sales resolutions that were passed the previous week. The first three votes of the week were attempts to override the President’s vetoes. All three failed to garner the two-thirds majority necessary, so all three vetoes were sustained.

Then the Senate began taking up nominations. Between Monday night and late Wednesday afternoon, the Senate confirmed the following people to the following positions:

• Michael T. Liburdi to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Arizona
• Peter D. Welte to be U.S. District Judge for the District of North Dakota
• James Wesley Hendrix to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas. Anticipating your question, no, I have no idea if Judge Hendrix goes by “Jimi.”
• Sean D. Jordan to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas.
• Mark T. Pittman to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas.
• Jeffrey Vincent Brown to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas.
• Brantley Starr to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas.
• Jason K. Pulliam to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Texas.
• Martha Maria Pacold to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.
• William Shaw Stickman to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
• Kelly Craft to be Ambassador of the United States to the United Nations and Representative to the Security Council.

The Senate came back in on Thursday morning and took up H.R. 3877, the budget-busting spending agreement. First up was Sen. Rand Paul’s amendment, described as a “cut, cap and balance” amendment that would impose a 10-year topline budget that would institute new budget caps, reducing spending by two percent per year for the next ten years, and require Congress to send to the states a Balanced Budget Amendment for ratification before it can raise the debt ceiling by $500 billion.

The Paul amendment was rejected, by a vote of 23-70. For those keeping score at home, the 23 champions of fiscal discipline on this exercise were Senators Barrasso, Blackburn, Braun, Cornyn, Crapo, Cruz, Daines, Enzi, Ernst, Fischer, Johnson, Kennedy, Lankford, Lee, Moran, Paul, Risch, Romney, Rubio, Sasse, Scott of SC, Toomey, and Young.

Then the Senate voted to invoke cloture on H.R. 3877, and then the Senate voted on H.R. 3877 itself. The spending agreement passed, by a vote of 67-28. The 28 “no” votes were not all Republicans – Democrats Michael Bennet, Tom Carper, Amy Klobuchar, Joe Manchin, and Jon Tester voted against the bill. The Republican “no” votes were Blackburn, Braun, Cassidy, Cotton, Cruz, Daines, Enzi, Fischer, Gardner, Hawley, Johnson, Kennedy, Lankford, Lee, Paul, Risch, Romney, Rubio, Sasse, Scott of FL, Scott of SC, Tillis, and Toomey.

Interestingly, there were several Republican Senators who voted FOR the Paul amendment, but also voted FOR the spending agreement. They were Sens. Barrasso, Cornyn, Ernst, Moran, and Young. And there were even Republican Senators who voted AGAINST the Paul amendment, but also voted AGAINST the spending deal. They were Sens. Cassidy, Cotton, Gardner, Hawley, Scott of FL, and Tillis.

And then they were done.

THIS WEEK ON THE SENATE FLOOR:

The Senate is in recess this week.

BORDER SECURITY/IMMIGRATION:

A new Hill-HarrisX poll released last Monday shows that a plurality of voters, 41 percent, favor criminal prosecutions for those who cross the U.S. border illegally, as opposed to 32 percent who said they believed a civil fine was the appropriate remedy.

Not surprisingly, partisan divisions were evident. A strong majority of Republicans – 67 percent – support criminal prosecution, while just 24 percent of Democrats said the same. Among Independents, the numbers were closer, but criminal prosecution was still favored by a plurality over a civil fine, 36 to 33 percent.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed S. 1494, the “Secure and Protect Act of 2019,” Chairman Lindsey Graham’s asylum reform bill, over loud protests from committee Democrats. The Democrats were upset that Graham would not allow consideration of any Democrat amendments. Graham countered that the bill had originally been scheduled for committee consideration the previous week, but only one Democrat had showed up for the hearing, thereby denying him the ability to discuss the legislation.

The bill would remove several protections for migrant children and raise the bar for obtaining asylum in the United States. The bill seeks to modify the 1997 Flores Agreement by raising the 20-day limit for holding an illegal immigrant child in custody to 100 days. Graham believes the legislation can be folded into the appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security. Democrat leader Chuck Schumer assured him that would not happen. We’ll see.

IMPEACHMENT:

Don’t look now, but impeachment is about to become a thing.

Since former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony on July 24, 23 Democratic members of the House have added their names to the list of those supporting the opening of an impeachment inquiry. The list now stands at 118, which is significant – that’s more than half the Democratic caucus in the House.

This is happening despite the fact that majorities of the electorate oppose the opening of such an impeachment inquiry. In the most recent Quinnipiac University survey, for instance, 60 percent of respondents said they don’t support beginning the process to impeach the president.

Nevertheless, the pressure on House Democrats is going to increase over the next month. Four progressive groups – Indivisible, MoveOn, Need to Impeach, and Stand Up America – are launching a joint campaign over the August recess to focus on members of the House Democratic leadership and the Judiciary Committee who haven’t yet announced their support for an impeachment inquiry.

RUSSIA HOAX:

Though the Department of Justice Inspector General’s report on the matter still hasn’t been released – and we’ve been told now to expect it sometime in September – leaks reveal that the Justice Department has concluded that former FBI Director James Comey violated the law by leaking classified information, but will not face criminal indictment for his actions.

Comey has said from the start that he believed the memos he wrote detailing his conversations with President Trump to be his personal property, rather than official FBI records, and he said he believed he was free to use them outside his government service.

Wrote The Wall Street Journal, “The exact reason for the decision not to prosecute is unclear, but typically the Justice Department doesn’t bring such cases unless prosecutors can prove some intent to violate the laws governing the handling of classified information. Mr. Comey himself publicly outlined that standard when he announced in 2016 that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her aides wouldn’t face charges over mishandling classified information in email messages stored on her personal email server.”

So, the new standard for criminal prosecution appears to be whether or not you believed you were committing a crime at the time you committed the crime. Remember that, all you who are considering robbing a bank – if and when you get caught, you simply say, “I didn’t think it was a crime to rob a bank.” And look very serious when you say it. And maybe that will work for you, too.

SOCIALISM:

On Monday, Montana Senator Steve Daines introduced S.Res. 289, “a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that socialism poses a significant threat to freedom, liberty, and economic prosperity.”

The text is relatively short. It says:

Whereas Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines socialism as—

(1) “any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods”; and

(2) “a system of society or group living in which there is no private property”;

Whereas socialism and the policies advocated by self-described “democratic socialists” have an underlying historical connection to the Marxist theory;

Whereas history has witnessed countless failed Marxist-inspired regimes;

Whereas, because of the perverse incentives and inherent flaws of the Marxist theory, socialism inevitably leads to societal rot, resulting in devastation, economic poverty, and destruction;

Whereas prominent elected officials in the Senate and the House of Representatives are self-described socialists and espouse socialist proposals;

Whereas socialist policies such as the Green New Deal and socialized medicine would—

(1) eliminate the private property rights of all people of the United States; and

(2) force taxpayers to pay trillions of dollars to implement;

Whereas Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, “Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.”;

Whereas Margaret Thatcher once stated, “Socialist governments … always run out of other people’s money”, and thus the way to prosperity is for the state to give “the people more choice to spend their own money in their own way”;

Whereas free-market capitalism is the greatest engine for human advancement in the history of the world, bringing more people out of poverty and into prosperity than any economic model in the history of mankind;

Whereas the United States is the single greatest country in the history of the world, due in large part to its system of government that secures the private property rights of all citizens through the genius of the Constitution of the United States; and

Whereas, on February 5, 2019, in the State of the Union address, President Donald J. Trump declared—

(1) “We are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country”; and

(2) “America will never be a socialist country”: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate—

(1) acknowledges that Marxism and socialism are failed ideologies;

(2) recognizes that socialism poses a significant threat to the freedom, liberty, and economic prosperity of all countries and people around the world;

(3) accepts that socialism is a failed experiment of governance that inevitably ends in misery and suffering;

(4) declares that, throughout the history, tradition, and national civic spirit of the United States, the United States has been a beacon of light shining like a lighthouse to the rest of the world, demonstrating that freedom and liberty are the surest foundation of government; and

(5) affirms that the United States should never be a socialist country.

By the end of the week, the Daines resolution had picked up only one cosponsor – Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn.

SPENDING:

On Thursday, the Senate passed H.R. 3877, lifting the debt ceiling for two years and busting the Budget Control Act’s sequester spending levels by more than $320 billion in FY 2020 spending. On Friday, President Trump signed the bill into law.

This bill did not appropriate a single penny. It is not a spending bill. It is merely a budget guidance reflecting what the congressional leaders of both parties in both chambers have agreed to spend in broad generalities. Congress will still have to pass the spending bills that fund government operations – either individually, as is preferred, or in some combination or combinations. Those bills will have to be passed by September 30, or the affected government agencies will have to shut down. But Congress won’t be back until September 9, and then will only have three weeks before the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, so I expect we’re going to see a short-term Continuing Resolution that will fund the government for another 30 or even 60 days, to keep the government open and running while the appropriators finish their work.

STAFFING:

On Friday, after five days of pummeling, President Trump and Congressman John Ratcliffe decided not to go forward with a nomination of Ratcliffe to replace Dan Coats as Director of National Intelligence. Trump tweeted the announcement less than five days after he first announced his intent to nominate Ratcliffe to the position. Ratcliffe’s marks the 35^th Trump nomination to a major position that was withdrawn after its announcement.

SUGGESTED READING:

JENNY BETH MARTIN/TEA PARTY PATRIOTS:

Breitbart: Jenny Beth Martin: When It Comes To Potential Judicial Nominees, Must We Be Chasing Amy?

BORDER SECURITY/IMMIGRATION:

Hill: Plurality Backs Criminal Prosecution For Illegal Border Crossings

WaPo: Mexico Touts 39% Reduction In Central American Migrants Traveling Through To US

Hill: #LeningradLindsey Trends After Graham Forces Asylum Bill Through Senate Committee

Hill: Graham Threat To Bust Panel Rules Roils Senate Tensions

WE: Immigration Top 2020 Issue, 3 To 1 Over Health Care, ‘Illegals Affect My Life’

Washington Times: Trump Racks Up Wins In Battle To Contain Surge At Border

RC: Senate Panel Advances Asylum Bill over Democratic Objections

IMPEACHMENT:

Politico: Schumer Defers To Pelosi On Impeachment

Politico: Majority of House Democrats Now Support Impeachment Inquiry

BuzzFeed: Progressive Groups Plan To Make House Democrats’ Summer Vacation All About Impeachment

NYDN: NY Rep. Eliot Engel Says Pelosi’s Reluctance on Impeachment Will ‘Change,’ Predicts Formal Inquiry Is Imminent

WT: ‘Minds Were Not Changed’: Trump Impeachment Push Stalls Among Voters After Mueller Hearing

RUSSIA HOAX:

Hill: James Comey’s Next Reckoning Is Imminent, This Time For Leaking

Hill: White House: Chris Wray’s FBI Continues To Cover For Comey’s Russia Shenanigans

CNN: Justice Department Won’t Prosecute James Comey Despite Watch Dog Referral

NYT: Justice Department Declines To Prosecute Comey Over Memos About Trump

WSJ: Justice Department Won’t Prosecute Comey for Releasing Classified Information

SOCIALISM:

Fed: Sen. Steve Daines Proposes Resolution Condemning ‘Disastrous Policies’ of Socialism

DW: GOP Senator Introduces Resolution Declaring America Will Never Be a Socialist Country

Hill: GOP Senator Introduces Resolution To Formally Condemn Socialism

Fox News: Daines To Introduce Resolution Condemning Socialism, Saying Pivotal Moment Has Arrived

SPENDING:

Hill: Senate Passes Sweeping Budget Deal, Sending It To Trump

WSJ: Senate Passes Two Year Spending Deal That Suspends Debt Ceiling

National Journal: Freshman GOP Senators Buck McConnell, Trump On Budget

Politico: Senate Passes Massive 2-Year Budget Deal

Politico: Fearing Defections, Trump And McConnell Crank Up Pressure On Budget Vote

Hill: The 23 Republicans Who Opposed Trump’s Budget Deal

Hill: Senate Passes Sweeping Budget Deal, Sending It To Trump

Politico: Senate Passes Massive 2-Year Budget Deal

WaPo: ‘We’re Like Thelma And Louise’ Republicans Shrug At Deficits Under Trump 

Sen. Rand Paul’s Cut, Cap, and Balance Amendment to H.R. 3877

Hill: Trump Signs Two-Year Budget Deal

STAFFING:

NYT: Trump’s Pick For Top Intelligence Post Overstated Parts Of His Biography

Politico: Trump’s Spy Chief Pick An Unknown Commodity Among Senate GOP

Hill: Top Democrat: ‘Disqualifying’ If Trump Intel Pick Padded His Resume

Hill: Trump Withdraws Ratcliffe as Intelligence Pick

NRO: Trump Pulls John Ratcliffe’s Director of National Intelligence Nomination

2020 DEMOCRATS:

WaPo: Democrats Pull No Punches On Second Night Of Debate

WaPo: Wednesday’s Presidential Debate Turns On Character ASs Much As Ideology, A Foreboding Turn For Democrats

Politico: Democrats Brawl Over ‘Medicare For All’ During Debate

WaPo: Evolution Or Revolution: Democrats Ideological Divisions Broke Into The Open In Their Detroit Brawl

NYT: Sanders And Warren Battle Accusations Of ‘Fairy Tales’ Promises As Intraparty Rift Flares

Axios: Democrats Sound Alarm On ‘Massive’ GOP Advantage In 2020

Politico: ‘Rage-Filled Democratic Party’ Trump Jabs At Progressives

MISCELLANEOUS:

WaPo: House Republican Retirements Reflect Transformation Of Party In Trump Era

AP News: US-Russia Arms Control Treaty Dies; US To Test New Weapons

Breitbart: Exclusive GOP House Campaign Arm Launches National Ad Highlighting Socialists Burglarizing America

Hill: House GOP Fears Retirement Wave Will Lead To Tsunami

Politico Magazine: The GOP’s Challenge In 2020? Don’t Make It About Trump

Politico: DCCC Faces Mass Staff Upheaval After Uproar Over Diversity

Fox News: Swing-State Households Would Lose At Least $70G Within First Year Of Green New Deal, Study Finds

WE: Seattle Software Tech Arrested In Capital One Data Breach Affecting 106 Million

Bloomberg: Cruz Pushes Mnuchin For Quick Action On Capital Gains Tax Break

WaPo: US Preparing To Withdraw Thousands Of Troops From Afghanistan In Initial Deal With Taliban

WaPo: Exclusive: Mike Pompeo Says Good Riddance To The INF Treaty

Hill: The House Republicans and Democrats Not Seeking Reelection in 2020

NYT: Kenny Marchant Will Be Fourth Texas Republican Congressman To Retire in 2020