Today’s edition of quick hits:
* A predictable reaction: “President Donald Trump suggested that he wants to delay the U.S. Census following a Supreme Court ruling that the 2020 census form cannot include a question about citizenship.”
* Not exactly the outcome many Dems hoped for: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has reversed course and will accept a bipartisan $4.6 billion Senate-passed border aid bill, yielding to opposition from the White House, powerful Republicans, and moderates in her own party.”
* He walked into court in a jail uniform: “Paul J. Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to mortgage fraud and other charges brought by the Manhattan district attorney in an effort to ensure Mr. Manafort could still face prison time if he is pardoned for his federal crimes.”
* At the border: “A union representing federal asylum officers said in a court filing Wednesday that the Trump administration’s policy forcing migrants to wait in Mexico while their asylum cases are decided risks violating international treaty obligations and ‘abandons our tradition of providing a safe haven to the persecuted.’”
* This one might actually become law: “The House Financial Services Committee unanimously passed a $300 million bill requiring carbon monoxide detectors in public housing Wednesday — a rare Democratic initiative that drew bipartisan support and immediate praise from the Trump administration.” * Is Kevin McAleenan in trouble, too? “Hard-liners inside and outside the Trump administration are pressing for the removal of President Donald Trump’s acting Homeland Security secretary amid a rolling leadership purge that began in April and shows no signs of ending, according to five people in the Trump administration and four former Department of Homeland Security officials.” * It sounds like he still owes us some money: “Former FEMA Administrator Brock Long returned to the government only a tiny fraction of the costs he incurred for unauthorized use of vehicles while in office, according to previously undisclosed documents provided to POLITICO.” 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
