Tag: Kamala Harris

Good Tuesday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. _____________________ • Senator Kamala Harris, the California Democrat and barrier-breaking prosecutor who became the second black woman to serve in the United States Senate, declared her candidacy for president on Monday. She entered the race on the holiday of Martin Luther King’s Birthday, an overt nod to the historic nature of her candidacy. • The Democratic field for 2020 is getting more crowded by the day. Here’s an updated list of who’s in, who’s out and who’s still thinking it over. • From Washington to South Carolina to Harlem, Democrats across the country commemorated Martin Luther King’s Birthday with events that honored the slain civil rights leader and lashed out at President Trump as a racist. • After his blank schedule for the day drew criticism, Mr. Trump paid a brief visit to a national monument to the Rev. • While the Trump administration has cracked down on Russian officials, Mr. Trump himself has largely taken a far more generous stance toward Moscow. Here are five times the administration has been tougher on Russia than the president.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A record-breaking number of women plan to run for president in 2020. Democratic Senator Kamala Harris of California made her formal announcement on Good Morning America Monday. Councilwoman Carol Berz says she thinks the current political and social environments have sparked women's interest in public office. Movements, like The Women's March, continue to dominate the headlines, but Berz says it takes more than marching to make women to run. Serving on Chattanooga's City Council for more than a decade, Berz says she understands why more women now are answering the call to public service. "I think its economy of scale, I think it's equity in business, I think it's education - I think it’s all sorts of things. I think the thing we need to realize is these aren't Republican or Democratic issues. Those who were some the first to see women step into our community's leadership roles, like Marie Hurley Blair, daughter of Mai Bell Hurley, Chattanooga's first female elected to city government, say the key to success as a woman in politics is standing your ground. "She had self-doubt at times, but I think she really was very much a big fixer person and had such a strong belief in the potential of what Chattanooga could become and was a part of that at every step,” said Blair. Councilwoman Berz expects, if the momentum continues, even more women will sit in the commission chambers and even in the Oval Office.

At least six Democrats have announced their candidacy for the 2020 presidential race; insight from Anna Palmer, Politico Playbook co-author. #DailyBriefing #FoxNews FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as…

California Senator Kamala Harris will give brief remarks and take questions from media at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington, D.C., following her announcement this morning that she will run for President. #FoxNews FOX News Channel (FNC) is a…

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, an outspoken advocate for women’s causes and electing more women to office, is herself entering the 2020 race for the White House, becoming the latest candidate to join what is expected to be a crowded Democratic primary to take on President Trump. In an appearance Tuesday on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” Ms. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, said she was forming an exploratory committee to raise money and travel the country for her run. Ms. Gillibrand’s 2020 announcement was widely expected after weeks of presidential buildup, in which she secured office space for a headquarters in Troy, N.Y., and expanded her political staff. “The first thing I would do is restore what’s been lost: the integrity and the compassion of this country,” Ms. Gillibrand told Mr. Colbert when he asked about her Day 1 priorities. “I would bring people together to start getting things done,” she said. At the time of her appointment, Ms. Gillibrand had just won re-election to her second term in the House after seizing her Albany-area seat from a Republican incumbent in 2006. She has moved steadily to the left politically since then, abandoning her former positions on guns and immigration, in particular, as she has become one of the Democratic Party’s most reliably liberal voices. Her decision — which was quickly echoed by other senators, both men and women — led to a backlash from some Democratic activists and donors who were angered that Mr. Franken was forced to resign while a president accused of harassment by multiple women remained in office. Ms. Gillibrand’s stance on Mr. Franken came on the heels of saying that, in retrospect, President Bill Clinton’s sexual relationship with an intern would have been cause to resign, even though the Clintons had championed her early in her career. She easily secured re-election in 2008 in a House race that was the most expensive in the nation that year.

What We’re Following Today It’s Monday, January 14. Here’s what else we’re watching: Dueling Narratives: Recent reports that Trump had gone so far as to seize his own interpreter’s notes in an effort to conceal details about his meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that the FBI at one point opened an inquiry into whether Trump was working on Russia’s behalf sparked very different reactions from Republicans and Democrats. Pivot! : Last week, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was all in for Trump declaring a national emergency to secure funding for a border wall, even tweeting on Friday, “Declare a national emergency NOW.” But by Sunday, he had started to change his tune. Unthinkable (Drew Angerer / Getty) Two years into President Trump’s first term in office, The Atlantic looks back on the moments that have defined his presidency. Unthinkable is our catalog of 50 of the most improbable incidents to date—from the truly outlandish to the truly destructive—that under any previous administration, Democratic or Republican, would still have been unthinkable. "If people really want to change the Senate to reflect the size of states, then just abolish the Senate." "I have a better idea: one senator from each state, elected for a six-year term, and 50 senators elected at-large for 12-year terms," writes Daniel R. Van Wyk of Everett, Washington. Read more reader ideas on reapportioning the Senate (or not), and read Orts’s response here. (Adam Serwer) “In 2014, as Trump was mulling a run for president, he made an appearance in Iowa with King, calling him ‘special guy, a smart person, with really the right views on almost everything,’ and noting that their views on the issues were so similar that ‘we don’t even have to compare notes.’”? Read on.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Former Obama Cabinet member Julian Castro joined the 2020 presidential race Saturday as the rush of Democrats making early moves to challenge President Donald Trump accelerates, while anticipation grows around bigger names still considering a White House run. “I’m running for president because it’s time for new leadership, because it’s time for new energy and it’s time for a new commitment to make sure that the opportunities that I’ve had are available to every American,” he told cheering supporters. Castro, who could end up being the only Latino in what is shaping up to be a crowded Democratic field, officially kicked off his campaign with a rally in his hometown of San Antonio, where he was mayor for five years. The ex-housing secretary became the second Democrat to formally enter race, after former Maryland Rep. John Delaney. Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu elected to Congress, is planning a bid, too. The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. The impasse over a border wall that Trump made a central promise of his 2016 campaign has led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The Democratic field is starting to take shape even though the first primary elections are more than a year away. After a brief career in law, he was elected mayor of the nation’s seventh-largest city at 34. During Castro’s trip this past week to Nevada, one state Latino business leader told Castro that he should again be a top contender for vice president if his campaign falls short.

Speaking Friday night at the 92nd Street Y on New York’s Upper East Side, Ms. Harris covered many bases: her origin story from Oakland to Capitol Hill, what drew her into public life and the importance of voters “seeing themselves” reflected in the nation’s array of leaders. It was a broad, biography-heavy message — not a rigid ideological mantra — meant to lay groundwork for a national profile as she prepares a next possible step: joining a growing field of Democrats who will compete to take on President Trump. Though rated as one of the most liberal members of the Senate, Ms. Harris speaks less about Wall Street corruption and economic populism than do Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, two fellow senators who are also looking to a 2020 matchup against Mr. Trump. Ms. Harris has built a devoted following because of her Senate committee interrogations of Trump administration officials, but she remains disliked by some criminal justice activists who say her policies as California attorney general and San Francisco district attorney helped increase the state’s prison population. “I didn’t think someone from California could speak to all parts of the country,” Ms. Leegant said, “but I was impressed.” “She’s my first choice to be my first choice,” said Betsy Kagen, a 33-year-old film editor who attended the talk. The themes of Ms. Harris’s new book, “The Truths We Hold: An American Journey,” could help her stand out in a crowded Democratic presidential primary. “If she can get people to have that hope again, that’s what’s important. Ms. Warren, the Massachusetts senator who became the first major candidate to announce presidential intentions and head to Iowa, has drawn attention for challenging Democratic candidates to propose a more broad restructuring of American society that would address economic inequality. Ms. Warren rarely mentioned Mr. Trump on the campaign trail, and is pushing primary candidates to have a more policy-driven discussion. Sarah Weiss, a 33-year-old book editor, said she was disappointed by Ms. Harris’s talk, especially after the heavy policy focus of Ms. Warren’s trip to Iowa.

Washington Gov. “He cannot stop us,” Inslee said, adding “He has not stopped me either.” Inslee will soon travel to the first primary state of New Hampshire as he mulls a White House bid. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Montana Gov. Each person is making moves that could result in a presidential campaign. In North Las Vegas, he cited his record on climate change, gun control, the minimum wage and paid family leave in an appearance at the Battle Born Progress convention. Campaign finance laws give nonfederal officials more leeway to raise money without having an official presidential campaign or exploratory committee, so there’s less pressure on them to announce campaigns than for senators who want to travel. If those governors and mayors announce early and then fail to show fundraising prowess, their campaigns could be short-lived. Inslee is traveling now using his federal political action committee. His national advisers include Jen Palmieri, a former communications director to the Obama White House and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. In Colorado, Hickenlooper opened a federal political action committee last fall and has made some top staff hires.

President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning that he's ordered FEMA to cut funding to California to prevent wildfires. The tweet read: "Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forrest fires that, with proper Forest Management, would never happen. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!" Politicians, firefighters and others responded to what can be seen as a very aggressive action from the president. Sen. Dianne Feinstein tweeted: "The Camp Fire killed 86 people, destroyed 14,000 homes & burned 150,000 acres. This empty threat is based on groundless complaints, and candidly isn't worth the time of day." California Assemblyman James Gallagher and Sen. Jim Nielsen released a statement saying: "This Twitter war, however, is not helpful. It will not solve the problem. There is no higher priority. Other officials: California Professional Firefighters tweeted: "President Trump's threat to cut off FEMA assistance to California is a deplorable attempt to play politics with the lives of tens of thousands of wildfire victims."