Welcome to the online edition of From the Politics Desk, an evening email that provides you with the most recent coverage and commentary from the campaign trail, Capitol Hill, and the White House by the NBC News Politics team.
According to Kristen Welker, President Donald Trump’s second week in office brought yet another barrage of news that at times felt a lot like his first stint in the White House. But first, we turn our attention to the Democrats’ next move, as Ben Kamisar gives a sneak peek at this weekend’s contest for the position of national party chair.
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Wollner, Adam
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Outlook for the weekend:Price increases for goods entering the United States from Canada and Mexico could result from Trump’s announcement on Saturday that he would put a 25% tariff on goods from both nations and a 10% tariff on those from China, according to the White House.Continue reading
Democrats are set to make their first big post-election decision
By Ben Kamisar
Following a crushing defeat in the 2024 election, Democrats are still without a leader. But by selecting the next chairman of the party’s national committee this weekend, they will take the first concrete step toward moving forward.
Members of the Democratic National Committee will convene on Saturday in National Harbor, Maryland, to elect a successor to departing head Jaime Harrison, who was appointed by Joe Biden to lead the party when he was in office.
For an organization that has spent nearly $1 billion over the past four years, the future DNC chair will be in charge of the organization’s hiring, expenditures, and fundraising strategies. Although the committee can act as a home base for a party outside of the White House and helps shape the Democratic message, the winner of Saturday’s vote will be more responsible for creating the foundation for a Democratic comeback than for bringing the party back to power.
Because of this, the DNC campaign has evolved from a fight for the party’s soul to a more nuanced discussion between front-runners who share many views and recognize that the next chair will have to deal with the day-to-day details of party building rather than making headlines.
The leaders:Ken Martin of Minnesota and Ben Wikler of Wisconsin are the two Democratic state party chairs from the Midwest who are claiming the highest support among DNC members.
Martin frequently highlights how, despite GOP successes in several other Midwestern blue wall states, his party-building in Minnesota has coincided with an unbroken run of statewide victories for Democrats since he assumed office. In battleground Wisconsin, Wikler established long-term campaign infrastructure and marketed it as a template for the party across the country.
The other candidates: The only other candidate to claim substantial DNC support is former Maryland Governor Martin O. Malley, who made a presidential run in 2016. He is the sole prominent contender elected to public office. Only a few weeks before the election, Bernie Sanders’ longtime advisor Faiz Shakir entered the campaign.
The procedure: The votes of DNC members are not disclosed until after the election, allowing members plenty of time to change their minds. Furthermore, if no candidate receives the majority on the first vote, a number of factors could decide who wins in the end, forcing the contest to proceed to multiple voting rounds.
Read more from Ben.
Resistance 2.0: Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois is providing some of the most direct Democratic opposition to Trump’s presidency to date.In a wave of pardons last week, Trump attempted to give individuals involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol a fresh start, but Natasha Korecki reveals that he is preventing them from holding public employment.
How Trump’s second week was reminiscent of his first term
By Kristen Welker
This week, President Donald Trump confronted the first national tragedy of his second term and made a significant policy decision that left many perplexed. Both incidents brought up memories of his first term.
Trump used the White House briefing room on Thursday to attribute the fatal disaster on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, even though the investigation into the collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter is still in its early phases. When asked if he had proof for his assertions, Trump responded, “It just might have been.” Later on, he said, “I have common sense, which is why I came to that conclusion.”
The reaction was reminiscent of Trump’s approach to the COVID outbreak during his first term in office. Often contradicting public health authorities, Trump spoke extensively to the nation from the briefing room about his administration’s approach to the illness. For instance, Trump first stated in late March 2020 that he did not agree with Dr. Anthony Fauci regarding the efficacy of a medication that could cure the virus. Trump claimed that his evaluation was merely an emotion when my colleague Peter Alexander questioned him about those remarks.
The Trump administration’s plan to suspend the majority of federal grants and loans also caused confusion this week. The action sparked legal challenges, opposition from lawmakers, and inquiries from agencies and officials. The directive was eventually revoked by the administration.
The story reminded viewers of another directive from the Trump administration that was issued nearly eight years prior: the so-called travel ban, which was an executive order that prohibited citizens of seven countries with a majority of Muslims from traveling. There was also a lot of uncertainty and opposition to the decree. Following a court battle, the Trump administration changed the order. Ultimately, the case reached the Supreme Court, which maintained the travel ban.
On Sunday’s Meet the Press, I’ll talk with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Senators Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., about Trump’s response to the sad crash and the proposed spending freeze.
Today s top stories
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DEI crackdown:
The Defense Intelligence Agency has ordered a pause of all activities and events related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day and other special observances in compliance with Trump s executive order.Read more
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DEI crackdown, cont.:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scrubbing a swath of HIV-related content from the agency s website as a part of the broader effort to wipe out DEI initiatives.Read more
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The purge:
David Sundberg, the assistant director in charge of the FBI s Washington field office, wasforced out of his job
. The move comes as several top FBI executives promoted by former Director Christopher Wray were told to resign or retire or they would be fired.
Read more
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In reverse:
The Pentagon has rescinded a Biden administration policy that reimbursed service members and dependents for travel to states where abortions and other reproductive health procedures are legal.Read more
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Pushback:
An order sidelining almost 60 senior career leaders at the U.S. Agency for International Development was temporarily rescinded by one of the few remaining senior career civil servants with the authority to do so. Hours later, the same employee was also placed on administrative leave.Read more
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For now, that’s all from the Politics Desk. Adam Wollner and Bridget Bowman Faith Wardwell put together today’s newsletter.
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