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Situational awareness - September 25, 2019

Wednesday, September 25, 2019 - 9:30am
Utah Policy

Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City

Thanks for reading Utah's must-read daily political news rundown. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to sign up for our emails.

Here are the stories you need to pay attention to this morning:

  • The House opens an official impeachment inquiry against President Trump.
  • Impeachment puts Democrat Ben McAdams in a precarious political position.
  • Bishop says he won't announce whether he'll run for governor until next year.

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Giveaway!

 

 

Wanna hear me sing? I'm playing Maury in "Disaster! The Musical!" at the Empress Theater in Magna.

I have some tickets to give away to a few of our lucky readers. The show runs from October 4-19.

Send me an email to be entered into a drawing to win.

TICK TOCK

Days to the 2019 Utah municipal elections: 41 (11/5/2019)

Days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature: 124 (1/27/2020)

Days to the Utah presidential primaries: 160 (3/3/2020)

Days to the 2020 Utah primary elections: 279 (6/23/2020)

Days to the 2020 election: 405 (11/3/2020)

Today At Utah Policy

Impeachment puts McAdams in a tough political position
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Rep. Ben McAdams finds himself in a political conundrum following Tuesday's announcement that House Democrats are opening an official impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. His party may be behind the impeachment drive, but voters in his district may not be.

Stewart says effort by Democrats to impeach Trump will backfire
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Rep. Chris Stewart said Tuesday he wasn't surprised that Democrats have opened an official impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, and he believes the move will ultimately backfire.

Bishop says he won't decide on run for Utah governor until fall
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Rep. Rob Bishop, long rumored to be mulling a bid for Utah governor, says he won't decide what his future holds until the fall, but won't make any sort of announcement until early next year.

Knee-jerk reactions - Bernick and Schott on politics
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Utah's members of Congress react to President Trump's actions toward Ukraine.

Guest opinion: 'Tax reform' won't solve Utah's budget problem
By Grover Norquist
Utah state government has several problems. It spends too much money, and taxes are too high and poorly designed, so they slow economic growth.

Job market confidence remains high despite uncertainties about trade negotiations
By Zions Bank
The Zions Bank Utah Consumer Attitude Index increased 6.2 points to 119.3 in September. The year-over-year CAI dipped 4.7 points. In comparison, the national Consumer Confidence Index decreased 9.1 points to 125.1 this month.

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

Salt Lake Tribune

Other

NATIONAL HEADLINES

Impeachment...kind of

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday that the House would initiate a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump for allegedly leaning on Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden [NYT].

It's not clear what has changed with Democratic efforts to investigate President Trump or what's next [WaPo].

President Trump admitted on Tuesday he held back military aid to Ukraine but said it was unrelated to efforts to get their government to investigate Biden [CNN].

The White House is preparing to release a version of the whistleblower complaint to Congress by Thursday. The complaint reportedly involves President Trump's interactions with Ukraine [Politico].

The White House is negotiating with Congress to allow the whistleblower to speak to congressional investigators [NYT].

Some in the intelligence community allege the whistleblower who has made an explosive accusation against President Trump has a "political bias" in favor of a "rival candidate" of the president [Fox News].

President Trump claims the push by Democrats toward impeachment helps his 2020 re-election bid [AP].

Centrist Democrats are worried Democrats will not be able to make the case about impeachment to voters [Politico].

Woah!

National security officials reportedly tried to delay a phone call between President Trump and the president of Ukraine for fear he would use the conversation to press for political dirt on Biden [WaPo].

Cha-ching!

The GOP and President Trump are already fundraising off of the impeachment drive. Republican party officials say they raised about $1 million in one day [Politico].

2020

Joe Biden's poll numbers are starting to tank in several early states [Politico].

Climate change

A new United Nations report says climate change is leading to extreme flooding in coastal areas and global sea levels could rise 3 feet by 2050 [WaPo].

BUSINESS HEADLINES

Policy News

McAdams' bipartisan bill aiding consumers hurt by investment fraud moves forward in Financial Services Committee
Congressman Ben McAdams, together with Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI), advanced a measure that gives federal securities officials more time to recover ill-gotten gains from white collar criminals who defraud investors.

Romney: Strategy toward Syria critical to U.S. national security
U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, today convened a hearing titled "The Path Forward: Key Findings From the Syria Study Group Report."

Tax Commission names new public information officer
Utah State Tax Commissioners named a veteran in the private and public sectors as its new public information officer.

Business leaders to meet with Utah federal delegation in Washington, D.C.
This week, sixty local business and community leaders will meet with Utah's Federal Delegation to discuss the business community's federal priorities on the Salt Lake Chamber's Annual Washington, D.C. Trip.

More National Headlines

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1513 - Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa reaches what would become known as the Pacific Ocean.

1690 - The first American newspaper, called Publick Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestic, appeared in Boston.

1775 - Ethan Allen surrenders to British forces after attempting to capture Montreal during the Battle of Longue-Pointe.

1789 - Congress passes twelve amendments to the U.S. Constitution: The Congressional Apportionment Amendment (which was never ratified), the Congressional Compensation Amendment and the ten that are known as the Bill of Rights.

1957 - Under escort from the Army's 101st Airborne Division, nine black students entered all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Ark.

1978 - Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 crashed in San Diego after colliding with a small Cessna aircraft. The crash killed 144 people, including seven on the ground.

1981 - Sandra Day O'Connor was sworn in as the first female Supreme Court justice.

1992 - A judge in Florida granted a 12-year-old boy's precedent-setting petition to "divorce" his mother.

2008 - Federal regulators seized Washington Mutual in what officials said was the biggest bank failure in U.S. history.

Wise Words

Still True

 

"In politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword. Heresies in either can rarely be cured by persecution."Alexander Hamilton

Lighter Side

Trump Derangement

 

"Then, this afternoon, we found out that the whistle-blower was referring to a series of actions that goes beyond any single discussion with a foreign leader. Oh, a series? Great, now we can binge-watch the end of America."- STEPHEN COLBERT