Today’s edition of quick hits:
* The latest from Capitol Hill: “The House Judiciary Committee will vote Wednesday to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt after he failed to comply with a subpoena to provide Congress with an unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and the underlying evidence, the panel announced Monday.”
* Cease fire: “Israel and militant forces in Gaza agreed to a cease-fire early Monday after a weekend of violence that killed at least 27 people and injured hundreds more on both sides of the border in one of the region’s most intense flareups of violence in years.”
* Be afraid: “One million plant and animal species are on the verge of extinction, with alarming implications for human survival, according to a United Nations report released Monday.”
* Predictable: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday confirmed that the Trump administration is making contingency plans for U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, but he refused to say whether the administration would seek congressional authorization first.”
* Georgia: “The mayor of Hoschton, a nearly all-white community 50 miles northeast of Atlanta, allegedly withheld a job candidate from consideration for city administrator because he was black, an AJC investigation has found.”
* Donald Trump does not currently have a communications director, and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney apparently intends to keep it that way.
* Whatever happened to draining the swamp? “Former White House chief of staff John F. Kelly has joined the board of Caliburn International, the parent organization of the company that runs the largest facility housing migrant children in the United States.”
* Following up on an item from last week: “President Donald Trump isn’t pleased that Fox News analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano is still saying Trump obstructed justice during the Russia probe. On Sunday, Trump retweeted an apparently random Twitter account that attacked Napolitano for ‘continuous incorrect statements.’” * Robocalls: “Bipartisanship may be in short supply in the 116th Congress, but Republicans and Democrats have found a common enemy. Swamped by complaints from peeved constituents — and tormented themselves by an onslaught of pesky and fraudulent calls — lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in both chambers are promising action to halt the influx of automated calls.” * Stan Collender, who knew more about federal budgets than anyone I’ve ever spoken to, died Friday night. He was just 68, and I will be among the many who will miss him. Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
