Today’s edition of quick hits:
* McConnell suggested he has the votes to pass something: “Republican senators moved on Tuesday to defuse a political crisis by seeking passage of legislation that would swiftly bring an end to President Trump’s practice of separating children from their parents when families cross into the United States illegally.”
* Some additional pressure from corporate heavyweights the GOP occasionally listens to: “Business groups including the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable also have called for an end to the family separations.”
* In case you missed the ProPublica report yesterday: “The desperate sobbing of 10 Central American children, separated from their parents one day last week by immigration authorities at the border, makes for excruciating listening. Many of them sound like they’re crying so hard, they can barely breathe.”
* That’s a word the president should try to avoid: “President Donald Trump accused Democrats of encouraging undocumented immigrants to ‘infest’ the United States Tuesday as he escalated an already pitched defense of his controversial policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the Mexican border.”
* Hmm: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo abruptly canceled a planned Wednesday briefing for all U.S. senators on a deal with North Korea that President Donald Trump has hailed as a breakthrough — even while the details remain vague.”
* Giuliani is quite a kidder: “President Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani said on Monday that he was actually just bluffing last week when he called for Justice Department leaders to suspend special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation within 24 hours.”
* CIA breach: “Federal prosecutors have charged a former software engineer at the center of a huge C.I.A. breach with stealing classified information, theft of government property and lying to the F.B.I. The engineer, Joshua A. Schulte, 29, of New York, had been the main suspect in one of the worst losses of classified documents in the spy agency’s history.” * Dana Milbank did a nice job with this: “So now we know how House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) has been staying sane during the Trump era. He has been living in a cave. Without Internet or TV. Out of range of cell service, newspaper delivery and carrier pigeons. With blindfold on eyes, cotton in ears and head in sand.” * There’s a very compelling case to be made that Juneteenth should be recognized as a proper holiday: “Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated on June 19 that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Across the country, the day is marked with events and parades.” 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
