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BY PRIYANKA ARIBINDI & CROOKED MEDIA Wednesday, May 29, 2019 |
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| —Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), who picked up on the need for impeachment hearings before approximately 198 House Democrats |
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| MUELLER TO CONGRESS: DO YOUR DAMN JOB |
| Special Counsel Robert Mueller made his first public statement on the conclusions of the Russia investigation on Wednesday, in which he also announced that he's resigning from the Department of Justice and returning to life as a private citizen (read: drinking Mai Tais on a beach with no wifi).
What Mueller said:
Also, William Barr lied: The Attorney General has repeatedly claimed, in testimony to Congress, that the Justice Department legal guidance was not the reason that Mueller declined to charge Trump with obstruction. Today, Mueller said emphatically that it was. Emphatically!
Over to you, House Democrats: There are currently 37 House Democrats and one House Republican (Rep. Justin Amash, R-MI) who are calling for impeachment, but both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler, who leads the committee that would start an impeachment inquiry, made no explicit mentions of impeachment in their reactions to Mueller’s statement. Nadler did, however, emphasize that “it falls on Congress to respond to the crimes.”
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| Sixteen health care groups and doctors have sued the Trump administration to try and block a new rule that will allow health care providers to opt out of “[providing], [participating] in, [paying] for, [providing] coverage of, or [referring] for” care for transgender patients or people seeking abortions.
The plaintiffs are arguing that the rule may influence providers to limit or stop providing certain care, since doing so would put their federal funding at risk. They’re also arguing that the rule will make this care less available to people in remote or rural areas, where lawmakers have become increasingly hostile towards trans people and women seeking abortions. |
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| Israel will hold an unprecedented second election in six months after scandal-embroiled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a governing coalition. Though Netanyahu’s party won the largest share of the vote in April’s elections, his efforts to form a coalition with fringe right-wing political parties failed over a controversial law that exempts ultra-Orthodox men from military service. Netanyahu, who faces corruption charges, will have to run again on September 17th.
The DNC doubled the threshold to qualify for the third presidential debate. Candidates will need to hit two percent in four major polls AND raise money from 130,000 unique donors in order to qualify for the September debate.
Beto O’Rourke became the second Democratic presidential hopeful to release a comprehensive immigration plan on Wednesday. He would use executive orders to end the travel ban, wall construction, family separation, and deportation for all immigrants except those with a criminal background. He would also introduce legislation to offer a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, expedite naturalization for qualified immigrants, introduce a new visa category for communities and religious groups to sponsor refugees, and allocate more funding for Central American countries in order to reduce the violence that causes asylum seekers to come here. He also wants to build a big ramp so he can kickflip over the border wall.
Tuesday set a record for severe weather, becoming the 12th consecutive day with at least eight reports of tornadoes across the Central Plains and Midwest. In the past 30 days, over 500 tornadoes have been reported, and in the last week alone they have been linked to at least seven deaths and widespread devastation. Though climate change is closely linked to extreme weather and natural disasters, it has been difficult for researchers to determine if increasing temperatures are responsible for the uptick in regularity and severity of tornadoes.
Mitch McConnell was asked what would happen if a Supreme Court vacancy opens up before the 2020 election. He reportedly took a long sip of his drink before saying with a smile, “Oh, we’d fill it.” After Justice Scalia’s death in February 2016, McConnell blocked Barack Obama’s nominee for 293 days, saying it was up to voters to decide whether a Democrat or Republican president would fill the vacancy. Didn’t realize we were holding supervillain auditions at Kentucky’s Paducah Chamber of Commerce Luncheon.
Presidential hopeful Seth Moulton announced his plan to expand mental health services on Tuesday, and opened up about his own struggles with PTSD. In addition to mental health checkups and counseling for troops, his proposal also includes money for annual mental health screenings for every high schooler nationwide.
Apple just scored a patent for a foldable screen. To think we once imagined a utopian future with flying cars, but instead we got Trump and a phone that folds a little bit but eventually breaks and needs to be replaced every year.
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| Generation Z, Millennials, and Generation X—comprised of people between the ages 18-53—made up a majority of midterm voters in 2018, outvoting Baby Boomers and older generations. Though turnout generally increases as groups age, the increase in 2018 was greatest among these younger voters. Make sure you’re one of these voters → votesaveamerica.com |
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| Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) signed two criminal justice reform bills on Wednesday:
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