Situational awareness - April 6, 2018

Situational awareness - April 6, 2018

Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City.

Is a veto override session coming? Trump ramps up the trade dispute with China. The House will take up a balanced budget amendment next week.

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Tick Tock

• 10 days until the signature-gathering deadline for statewide ballot initiatives (4/16/2018)
• 15 days until the Utah GOP State Convention (4/21/2018)
• 22 days until the Utah Democratic State Convention (4/28/2018)
• 31 days until the final day a veto override session may begin (5/7/2018)
• 81 days until the 2018 Primary Election (6/26/2018)
• 215 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 298 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
• 944 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

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Got a tip or story idea? Send me an email at bschott@utahpolicy.com.

Here are the news stories driving Friday

What a week!

Utah GOP craziness, Dave Bateman vs. Todd Weiler, get ready for a convention circus and don't call it a trade war. Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott break the week's political news into bite-sized chunks for you [Utah Policy].

You can also download the podcast version of our week-in-review to listen on the go [Utah Policy].

Veto override?

Bob Bernick says he expects lawmakers to have a veto override session this year, but the politics are not a simple situation [Utah Policy].

Other Utah headlines

• Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mitt Romney does not think President Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods will result in a trade war [Deseret News].
   
• The race to replace Rep. Greg Hughes in the Utah House could be a bruising affair between two members of the Draper City Council [Tribune].
   
• Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jenny Wilson campaigns in Moab [Moab Times-Independent].
   
• Elder Jack Gerrard, a new general authority for the LDS Church, is a longtime lobbyist for oil and gas interests [Tribune].
   
• On average, male faculty members at the University of Utah earn 48% more than their female counterparts [Daily Utah Chronicle].
   
• Utah's gun background check database was missing records detailing mental incompetence for months because of a database glitch. The same information was missing from the federal background check system for more than a year [Tribune].
   
• Mayors in Salt Lake County will hold a public hearing for comment on projects that will be funded by federal dollars [Deseret News].
   
• There are 13 other Republicans running for U.S. Senate in Utah who are not Mitt Romney. This profile of them is hilarious [The Outline].

National headlines

• President Trump says he's considering slapping another $100 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods [New York Times].
   
• President Trump's brewing trade war with China could hit Trump supporters in rural areas hard [Associated Press].
   
• Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse says Trump has no actual plan to win a trade war with China and his current strategy is "the dumbest possible way to do this." Sasse added that Trump's trade moves against China threaten "to light American agriculture on fire" [The Hill].
   
• President Trump says he wants to send 2,000 to 4,000 troops to guard the Mexican border [Washington Post].
   
• The problems for EPA head Scott Pruitt continue to mount:
  • Several EPA officials were either reassigned or demoted after raising questions about Pruitt's lavish spending [New York Times].
     
  • The EPA's inspector general is considering an investigation into Pruitt's $50-a-night condo lease. The EPA's IG has already opened 3 investigations into Pruitt [Politico].
     
• President Donald Trump says he did not know about the $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about her affair with Trump [CNN].
   
• No one is really sure what U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber has been tasked with doing in his investigation into alleged abuse at the FBI and DOJ [The Hill].
   
• The House will take up a balanced budget amendment when they return from recess next week [The Hill].
   
• A record number of women are running for the U.S. House this year [Associated Press].
   
• The Oklahoma Senate is debating a tax hike package to boost education funding in an attempt to end a week-long teachers' strike [Reuters].

On this day in history

• 1712 - The New York Slave Revolt of 1712 begins near Broadway.
   
• 1808 - John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company that would eventually make him America's first millionaire.
   
• 1830 - Church of Christ, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement, is organized by Joseph Smith and others at either Fayette or Manchester, New York.
   
• 1841 - President John Tyler is sworn in, two days after having become President upon William Henry Harrison's death.
   
• 1862 - The Battle of Shiloh begins: In Tennessee, forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant meet Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston.
   
• 1893 - The Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is dedicated by Wilford Woodruff.
   
• 1896 - The first modern Olympics formally opened in Athens, Greece. 
   
• 1909 - Robert Peary and Matthew Henson reach the North Pole.
   
• 1917 - The United States declares war on Germany in World War I.
   
• 1968 - Federal troops and National Guardsmen were deployed in Washington, Chicago, and Detroit as rioting continued over the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Today At Utah Policy

Popcorn and Red Bull - Bernick and Schott on politics Ep. 368
By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick
The looney-tunes behavior from some in the Utah GOP is ramping up....

Bob Bernick's notebook: The sticky politics of a veto override session
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
Part of the internal Utah legislative politics these days, after the 2018 general session, is this:Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, and House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, are both retiring the end of this year....

Lane Beattie: A time to say goodbye
By Lane Beattie, President and CEO, Salt Lake Chamber
In times of change, such as in farewells, it can be hard to find the right words to express the emotions one feels about the past, with its hundreds of memories, and the future, with all of its unknowns and new beginnings....

Weekly survey: Herbert vs. medical cannabis
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Last week Gov. Gary Herbert announced he would "actively oppose" the ballot initiative to legalize medical cannabis in Utah because he was worried it would have unintended consequences. Do you think Herber's opposition will make any difference? Vote now in our weekly survey....

Podcast: Bernick and Schott on politics Ep. 368
By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick
Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott cut a big week in Utah politics into bite-size morsels for you....

Policy News

Casual Friday: Weekend Events & Outdoors Report
Weekend EventsNew Films-- Trek: The Movie: Tribune reviewConcerts-- Gerta and Moriah, Davis Arts Council, Friday, 7 p.m., Alpine Church, 254 West 2675 North, Layton, free-- Kevin Kenner, Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation, Friday, 7:30 p.m., Rose Wagner Performing ...

USTAR to host Utah Technology Innovation Summit and Governor's Science Medals in June
The Utah Science and Technology Research Initiative will host the Utah Technology Innovation Summit on June 6, 2018 at the Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek. The event will culminate with the 2018 Governor's Medal for Science and Technology awards ceremony....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Jean Hill: Crackdowns on immigration never work

Editorial: Background checks don't work if records aren't kept up

A new general authority for the LDS Church is also a longtime lobbyist for oil, mining companies

Gehrke: The guy behind Utah's school safety effort embraces the gun fringe, oh, and he's also running for Senate

Will race for outgoing House speaker's seat dredge up nasty feud between former city council rivals?

Is Dave Bateman the Utah Republican Party's financial savior, or its new strings-attached lender?

Deseret News

Jay Evensen: UTA is a great transit name, why change it?

Op-ed: It doesn't make sense to invest in 'dreamers' and not let them stay

Op-ed: The dangers of Secretary Zinke's proposal

Editorial: Parents and government officials should warn teens on the dangers of vaping

Utah is about to become the first state with a free-range parenting law; what does it mean for you?

Glitch withheld info used in gun background checks

Salt Lake County's first 'Expungement Day' helps dozens clear criminal records

Trump threat of $100 billion tariffs will 'wake up' China, Mitt Romney says

Push for land trades, federal designation in Wasatch canyons raising concerns

National Headlines

Trump Is Cutting Old Gordian Knots (National Review)

Brennan Is 'Doing Putin's Bidding' With Anti-Trump Rhetoric, Says Former CIA Station Chief (Daily Caller)

Texas Republican Makes Secret Peacemaking Trip To Venezuela (CBS News)

Inside Hollywood's Embrace of Saudi Arabia (The Information)

Trump: 2,000-4,000 troops needed for Mexico border security (Associated Press)

From Facebook to Harvey Weinstein, America's scandals amount to a giant crisis of maturity. (Wall Street Journal)

Trudeau sees high chance of NAFTA deal with US, Mexico (AFP)

Trump Doubles Down on Potential Trade War With China (New York Times)

U.S. plans to sanction Russian oligarchs this week (Reuters)

Trade Deficit Hits Near Decade High, Raising Specter of Twin Deficits (Wall Street Journal)

As Trump Bashes Amazon, the Government Relies on It (Wall Street Journal)

Wise Words

Hope

"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness." Desmond Tutu

Lighter Side

2020 Census

"The 2020 census is asking a new question that many say is invasive and inappropriate. The question is: "Are you Gryffindor or Hufflepuff?" Conan O'Brien