Trump Plants Seeds Of Doubt On The Election
- As is often the case these days, it started with a tweet. President Trump on Thursday escalated his war against mail-in voting by floating a delay to Election Day 2020.
- Trump doesn’t actually have the power to move the election; only Congress can do so. But the threat still serves a purpose for Trump, allowing him to undermine the results if things don’t go his way in November.
- State elections officials on both sides of the aisle quickly shot down the President’s trial balloon.
- Top Republicans similarly said no way. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy both rejected the idea.
- In a press briefing at the end of the day Thursday, Trump doubled down on his bogus argument for an election delay.
- Finally, on Friday, Trump switched gears. Maybe the election should actually be moved up, he told reporters. So which is it? Your guess is as good as ours.
COVID-19 On Capitol Hill
- Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), who has refused to wear a mask on Capitol Hill, tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.
- Gohmert had made a number of questionable claims about the coronavirus, among them that health care workers in Germany were using a “mist” to kill the virus. (They weren’t.)
- After testing positive, Gohmert put a new spin on his diagnosis. He claimed it’s possible he actually got the virus from wearing a mask.
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) responded to the development by ordering a broad mask mandate in congressional buildings.
Barr Spars With House Democrats
- Bill Barr’s appearance before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday touched on a range of topics, including the federal law enforcement crackdown in Portland; the ouster of the U.S. attorney in Manhattan; and mail-in voting.
- House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler (D-NY) pressed Barr on whether discussions around a nationwide law enforcement “surge” ever centered around Trump’s reelection prospects. Barr said he selected cities for the operation for “neutral” reasons.
- Barr also said he doesn’t believe there is systemic racism in America’s police departments.
- The attorney general later went all in on his bogus claims about mail-in voting, saying that it’s ripe for fraud.
- Read TPM’s full coverage of the Barr hearing here.
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