V O L . 1 1 N O . 7 1 | T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 | P O L I T I C O .
C O M
Trumps deal with Democrats
bolsters Ryan for now
Though some conservatives are upset with
the GOPs lack of accomplishments, they appear
to be a long way from booting the speaker.
PAGE 6
Sen. Tim Kaine is ghting Donald Trumps agenda in the Senate and also focusing on a statewide race in
Virginia that will be one of the rst chances for Democrats to deliver an electoral rebuke to the president.
Kaine hits the trail again,
battling 2016 ghosts
There is nothing this guy has done that should surprise a person
in this country, the 2016 VP nominee says of Donald Trump
BY AUSTIN WRIGHT
An aide to Tim Kaine enters a
diner in Charlottesville and in-
forms the host that the Virginia
senator is about to walk in. The
host smiles and cracks a joke:
You mean the guy who lost to
Trump?
Ten months after the presiden-
Liberals dominate Democrats
2020 presidential jockeying
BY GABRIEL DEBENEDETTI
Bernie Sanders showed in 2016
that an unabashed liberal with a
fervent following could reach the
cusp of the Democratic nomina-
tion. Now a slew of progressive
Democrats are following his lead.
More than two years before
the next presidential primaries,
roughly a dozen potential candi-
Will Corker
retire in 2018?
Senator is undecided
whether to seek
reelection next year.
tial election, Kaine is still trying
to shed the stigma of being the
vice presidential candidate on the
ticket that came up short against
Donald Trump, a man so reviled
by Kaines fellow Democrats
that many of them cant bear
the thought of him serving out
his full four-year presidential
dates pushing liberal economic
agendas are making initial moves
in preparation for a run. Sanders
himself has visited early-voting
states. Fellow senators including
Elizabeth Warren of Massachu-
setts and Jeff Merkley of Oregon
have been meeting with activists.
And governors such as Montanas
LIBERALS on page 16
Bannon plotting primaries
against GOP incumbents
The effort threatens to drain millions of dollars
from party coffers that could be used
against Democrats.
PAGE 8
ANDREW HARNIK/AP
term. The senator is back on the
campaign trail stumping in
Virginia for Democratic guberna-
torial candidate Ralph Northam
and preparing for his own 2018
reelection campaign.
But even as Kaine tries to keep
his focus on the next election,
KAINE on page 12
JOHN MINCHILLO/AP
Sen. Bernie Sanders 2016 bid
drew the Democrats to the left.
PAGE 10
McCain helms
thorny Senate
defense debate
Tough votes on transgender troops and a new
war powers authorization could come this week
BY CONNOR OBRIEN
AND AUSTIN WRIGHT
The Senate is likely to tackle
a slew of contentious issues this
week during debate over the an-
nual defense policy bill, from the
status of transgender troops to war
powers and even a surprise push
by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to
allow the military to close bases
across the country.
Itll also give the 81-year-old
McCain, now being treated for
an aggressive form of brain can-
cer, a week in the congressional
spotlight as he seeks to rally the
Senate against the partisanship
and gridlock that have entangled
Capitol Hill.
I have just more energy than
ever, and we are doing the defense
bill on the floor of the Senate to-
morrow, which will take all week,
which is very important, McCain
told CNNs Jake Tapper in an in-
terview Sunday during which he
reflected on his own mortality.
Republicans jockey for
Budget chair vacancy
BY RACHAEL BADE
A handful of Republicans are
lining up to replace outgoing House
Budget Chairman Diane Black,
quietly jockeying for a gavel that
will play a starring role in the up-
coming tax reform fight.
Budget panel Republicans Steve
Womack, Rob Woodall and Bill
Johnson are all eyeing the position,
the lawmakers confirmed in inter-
views. Womack and Johnson have
already alerted Speaker Paul Ryan
of their interest and started but-
tonholing members of the House
panel that elects its chair though
Black, who is running for Tennes-
see governor, will likely retain her
position until the House passes its
Matt
Wuerker
The cartoonists
daily take on the
world of politics.
PAGE 22
And so Im just fine.
The Senate voted 89 to 3 on
Monday evening to launch debate
on the bill, with debate potentially
stretching into next week. Sixty
votes were needed to proceed.
This will be McCains third time
managing floor debate for the Na-
tional Defense Authorization Act
since 2015, when he became chair-
man of the Senate Armed Services
Committee.
The massive policy bill provides a
budget blueprint for the military and
reflects many of the Arizona Repub-
licans priorities since taking over
the Armed Services panel, including
reforms at the Pentagon and a major
increase in defense spending.
Because it is considered must-
pass legislation, the bill often be-
comes a vehicle for lawmakers to
try to attach controversial amend-
ments and this year will be no
different as senators prepare to
push for votes to rein in the Trump
DEFENSE on page 13
2018 blueprint, which is expected
around the end of the month.
Four senior Republicans said
Womack is the front-runner. While
not the most senior member on the
panel, the Arkansas Republican has
a good reputation with leadership
and conservatives alike. He also
organized the National Republi-
can Congressional Committees
March dinner with President Don-
ald Trump, which brought in $30
million for the campaign arm.
Theres an expectation that
Black will step down having an-
nounced for governor of Ten-
nessee, creating a vacancy in the
chair, and Im interested in taking
VACANCY on page 15
2 | POLITICO | T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7

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Trump commemorates
9/11 anniversary: America
cannot be intimidated
President Donald Trump marked
the 16th anniversary of the Sept.
11, 2001, terrorist attacks on
Monday, honoring victims, first
responders and the military in
remarks at the Pentagon and
pledging resolve keep the U.S.
safe from future attacks.
The terrorists who attacked
us thought they could incite
fear and weaken our spirit. But
America cannot be intimidated
and those who try will soon
join the long list of vanquished
enemies who dared to test our
mettle, Trump said Monday
morning.
The president, who recently
announced his administrations
strategy for the long-running
conflict in Afghanistan that
began in 2001 as a hunt for the
organizers of the Sept. 11 attacks,
warned that we are making plain
to these savage killers that there is
no dark corner beyond our reach.
No sanctuary beyond our grasp,
and nowhere to hide anywhere on
this very large Earth.
Trump offered consoling
words to the families of victims
who gathered for Mondays
ceremony and shared the story
of a Pentagon police officer who
rushed into the wreckage of the
Pentagon and saved as many
as 20 people over his nearly 36
hours working at the site. The
attacks against the U.S., the
president said, made the nation
more resilient and continue to
do so.
The president was preceded
in his remarks by Gen. Joseph
Dunford, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, and Defense
Secretary James Mattis, who
declared that Americans are not
made of cotton candy, were not
seaweed drifting in the current,
we are not intimidated by our
enemies and, Mr. President, your
military does not scare.
Vice President Mike Pence
on Monday paid tribute to the
passengers of United Airlines
Flight 93, who fought against
hijackers on 9/11.
I and many others in our
nations capital were able to go
home that day to hug our families
because of the courage and
selflessness of heroes of Flight
93, Pence said, speaking from
Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Earlier Monday, the president
and first lady Melania Trump
observed a moment of silence
on the South Lawn of the White
House, commemorating the
16th anniversary of the Sept. 11,
2001 terrorist attacks in New
York, Arlington, Virginia, and
Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Wearing a dark suit and a solid
red tie, the president emerged
with his wife from the White
Houses South Portico at 8:45
a.m. for an 8:46 a.m. moment of
silence marking the exact time
that American Airlines Flight
11 crashed into the north tower
of the World Trade Center in
Manhattan. Melania Trump,
who stood by the presidents side
during the brief ceremony, wore a
long-sleeved black dress.
The president and first lady
stood with their hands over their
hearts as a bell tolled at 8:46 a.m.
Trump marks 9/11 anniversary
President Donald Trump, rst lady Melania Trump and White House aides and staff members mark the 16th
anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks as Taps plays during a ceremony Monday on the South Lawn of the
White House. Trump later honored victims, rst responders and the military in remarks at the Pentagon.
and a Marine played Taps on a
bugle.
The president and first lady
were joined by his daughter
Ivanka Trump and her husband,
Jared Kushner, both of whom
serve as advisers to the president.
Other administration staff
members present included
chief of staff John Kelly, press
secretary Sarah Huckabee
Sanders, counselor to the
president Kellyanne Conway,
national security adviser H.R.
McMaster, economic adviser
Gary Cohn, White House counsel
Don McGahn, deputy national
security adviser Dina Powell,
communications director Hope
Hicks and Nick Ayers, chief of
staff to Vice President Mike
Pence.
Trump, who is scheduled to
attend another Sept. 11 ceremony
later Monday morning at the
Pentagon, did not offer any
remarks during the brief White
House event and and returned
inside the White Hosue at 8:48
a.m. Pence is scheduled to
attend a ceremony Monday in
Shanksville, Pennyslvania, where
United Flight 93, which had been
hijacked, crashed into a field.
Louis Nelson
Legal group moves to challenge
Trumps Arpaio pardon
An advocacy group moved
on Monday to challenge
Donald Trumps pardon of
controversial former Arizona
Sheriff Joe Arpaio, alleging
that the presidents move was
unconstitutional because it
undermined the power of the
federal judiciary.
A public interest law firm, the
Roderick and Solange MacArthur
Justice Center, sought to file an
amicus brief in a federal district
court in Arizona, where Arpaio
is seeking to vacate a conviction
after Trump granted him a
pardon last month. The brief was
FORTY FIVE
A daily diary of the Trump presidency
initially turned down by a judge
on procedural grounds.
Arpaio, the former sheriff
of Maricopa County, has been
repeatedly accused of employing
racist law enforcement tactics
and mistreating inmates. A
Justice Department civil rights
investigation concluded that
his department racially profiled
Latinos, and Arpaio in 2016
lost a bid for reelection. In July,
he was convicted of criminal
contempt of court because he had
continued to detain immigrants
without sufficient reason after
a federal court order told him to
stop. Trump pardoned Arpaio in
August, pointing to his selfless
public service.
The MacArthur Justice Center
moved to file in the case on
Monday but was warned by Judge
Susan Bolton that the motion
would be denied in three days if it
was not edited to adhere to court
procedure.
The brief contends that
Trumps pardon of Arpaio
violated the Constitution because
it has the purpose and effect of
eviscerating the judicial power
to enforce constitutional rights.
The MacArthur Justice Center
lawyers argue that presidential
pardon power, though broad,
cannot be used to undermine the
judiciarys ability to enforce the
Bill of Rights or the Fourteenth
Amendment.
The Arpaio pardon, the
lawyers argue, eviscerates this
Courts enforcement power
by endorsing Arpaios refusal
to comply with federal court
orders.
The brief also takes issue
with the breadth of Trumps
pardon, noting that the text
of the pardon is so broad that it
purports to allow Arpaio to run
for Sheriff again and escape
criminal liability for future
contempt.
Madeline Conway
T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 | POLITICO | 3
WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES
Pope Francis: Trump may not
be pro-life if he ends DACA
President Donald Trump may
not be as pro-life as he has
previously professed himself to
be, Pope Francis said Monday, if
he does indeed rescind a program
that grants work permits to
undocumented immigrants who
arrived in the U.S. as children,
thereby exposing them to
possible deportation.
The President of the United
States presents himself as pro-
life and if he is a good pro-lifer,
he understands that family is the
cradle of life and its unity must
be protected, the Pope said
Monday, according to a CNN
report, aboard his plane as he
returned to the Vatican from a
trip to Colombia.
The Trump administration
announced earlier this month
that he would end DACA,
the Obama-era program that
shielded so-called Dreamers from
deportation, citing concerns
about its constitutionality. The
White House has framed the
move as a compassionate one,
allowing for a six-month wind
down of the program instead of
leaving it open to an immediate
end via the courts.
The six-month window, the
Trump administration has said,
leaves Congress time to act
and more permanently protect
Dreamers. The president, who
once vowed to deport every
single undocumented immigrant
in the U.S., has vowed to treat
Dreamers with great heart
and has suggested that he
wants Congress to find a more
permanent solution for them. If
Congress fails to act, Trump has
pledged to revisit this issue.
Aboard his plane Monday
morning, the Pope put the onus
back on the president to make
sure that Dreamers are protected.
I think this law comes not
from parliament but from the
executive, the Pope said. If that
is so, I am hopeful that it will be
rethought.
During last years campaign,
Pope Francis suggested that
Trump was not Christian
because of his pledge to build a
wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
During a visit to Mexico, the Pope
also celebrated Mass in Ciudad
Jurez, just across the Rio Grande
from El Paso, Texas, and prayed
near the U.S.-Mexico border.
In a statement released by his
campaign, Trump responded
to the Popes not Christian
remark by saying that if and
when the Vatican is attacked by
ISIS, which as everyone knows
is ISISs ultimate trophy, I can
promise you that the Pope would
have only wished and prayed that
Donald Trump would have been
President because this would not
have happened.
More recently, the two men
met face to face last May at the
Vatican, exchanging gifts during
a meeting that the president
characterized as fantastic. As
their time together ended, Trump
promised the Pope, I wont
forget what you said.
Louis Nelson
Sanders: Bannon likes to speak
in the most extreme measures
Responding to Steve Bannons
lengthy interview on 60
Minutes, White House press
secretary Sarah Huckabee
Sanders said Monday that
President Donald Trumps
former chief strategist tends to
speak in extreme language and
suggested that she does not agree
with everything he said.
At Mondays daily briefing,
Sanders fielded several questions
about Bannon, whose lengthy
interview with Charlie Rose on
60 Minutes aired on Sunday.
It made news for, among other
bombastic remarks, his blunt
criticism of the Roman Catholic
Church and former colleagues in
the White House, like economic
adviser Gary Cohn (Bannon said
he should quit).
Bannon, who chaired Trumps
presidential campaign in its later
stages and refers to himself as
a nationalist and populist, left
the administration last month
and returned to the right-wing
website Breitbart News, of which
he is executive chairman.
When a reporter asked Sanders
to respond to Bannons assertion
that the immigration debate
could cause a civil war within
the Republican Party, Sanders
deflected the query, saying, I
think that Steve always likes to
speak in kind of the most extreme
measures. Im not sure that I agree
with that.
Sanders said Trump has seen
clips from the interview, but she
was not sure if he had seen it in
full.
The press secretary also
dodged a question about
whether the president agrees
with Bannons assessment that
Republican leaders like Mitch
McConnell and Paul Ryan want
to nullify the results of the
presidential election.
Not that Im aware of, but I
havent had that conversation
with him, she said.
Madeline Conway
4 | POLITICO | T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7
Right now, I intend to run again, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch said Monday. But who knows? Mitt Romney, the 2012
GOP presidential nominee, is reportedly preparing a run for Hatchs seat if the senator decides to retire.
Hatch to weigh reelection bid;
Romney may run if he retires
Seven-term lawmaker
to decide by years end
BY SEUNG MIN KIM
Senate Fi na nce Com m ittee
Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)
said Monday that he will make a
decision by the end of the year on
whether he will run for an eighth
term in 2018.
R ight now, I intend to run
again. But who knows? Hatch
AP FILE PHOTO 2014
Michigan Rep. David Trotts
decision not to seek reelection
opens another competitive seat as
the GOP tries to retain its majority.
said in a brief interview on Mon-
day. By the end of the year, Ill
make that determination.
Questions about Hatchs po-
litical future flared again Mon-
d ay fol low i n g a rep or t f rom
UtahPolicy.com that said former
GOP presidential nominee Mitt
Romney is preparing a run for
Hatchs seat should the senator
retire.
Such specu lat ion has been
floating for months, though Hatch
Trott 3rd GOP congressman
to nix reelection run in 2018
BY ELENA SCHNEIDER
Michigan Rep. Dave Trott said
Monday that he would not seek
reelection, making him the third
Republican incumbent in the past
week to vacate a potential battle-
ground district ahead of the 2018
midterm elections.
Representing the Eleventh Dis-
trict has been an honor, but I have
decided not to seek reelection in
2018, Trott said in a statement.
This was not an easy decision,
but after careful consideration, I
have decided that the best course
for me is to spend more time with
my family and return to the private
sector.
AARON P. BERNSTEIN/GETTY IMAGES
said in May that he had spoken to
Romney and that the former Mas-
sachusetts governor would not
run for the Senate.
Hatch, 83, said Monday that
he is considering just about ev-
erything in deciding whether to
run for another six-year term next
year. Despite the recent spate of
retirements in the House, no sen-
ator has announced this year the
intention to forgo a reelection run
in November 2018.
Trotts decision along with re-
tirements announced last week by
Reps. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania
and Dave Reichert of Washington
opens another competitive House
seat, as the House GOP tries to hold
on to its 24-seat majority. President
Donald Trump carried Trotts dis-
trict in suburban Detroit by just
under 5 points in 2016.
Before Trotts announcement,
Democrats were already eyeing
his seat. Democrat Haley Stevens,
a digital manufacturing executive
who served as chief of staff to then-
President Barack Obamas Auto
Task Force, decided to challenge
Trott in April.
McCain: Every life has to
end one way or another
BY IAN KULLGREN that should reveal more.
Sen. John McCain opened up Everything so far has gone very,
about his battle with brain cancer very well, and Im very grateful,
on Sunday, adding it to the list of he said. Ive had no side effects,
other near-fatal encounters hes no nothing, except, frankly, an in-
faced. creased level of energy.
Im facing a challenge, the But he was quick to add, Im
Arizona Republican said on CNNs not trying to paint this as a rosy
State of the Union program. But picture.
Ive faced other challenges, and This is a very virulent form of
Im very confident about getting cancer; it has to be fought against,
through this one as well. he said. We have new technolo-
In his first nationally televised gies, which I wont bother you with
interview since his diagnosis in the details of, that make chances
July, McCain shared with Jake much better.
Tapper some of the details of his McCain recounted his presiden-
battle against glioblastoma, an tial run in 2000 one of the high
aggressive type of brain cancer. points of his career, he said when
The 81-year-old, six-term senator he fought past his underdog status
was by turns somber, upbeat and and gave George W. Bush a hard
reflective about his storied career, battle for the Republican presi-
which has included two presidential dential nomination.
runs and more than five years as a Those joyful memories of the
prisoner of war in Vietnam after his campaign in 2000 were some of
Navy jet was shot down. the most enjoyable times of my
You know, every life has to end life, McCain said. We were the
one way or another, he said. underdogs. We were fighting our
McCain, who chairs the Senate way up. Everything was so magic
Armed Services Committee, re- about that campaign.
cently underwent chemotherapy I hope this is not our last inter-
and radiation treatments after sur- view, Tapper said as the interview
gery to remove a brain tumor. He came to an end.
said hes scheduled for a magnetic A lot of people want it to be the
resonance imaging test on Monday last, McCain wryly replied.
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/AP
Sen. John McCain said so far his treatment for brain cancer has gone well,
but stressed that this is a very virulent form of cancer.
Robert L. Allbritton
PUBLISHER & EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN
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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
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PRESIDENT
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6 | POLITICO | T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7
The GOPs right ank is starting to agitate against Speaker Paul Ryan. And Ryan is caught in an often-impossible position between a fractious conference and an unpredictable president.
Trumps deal with Dems bolsters Ryan for now
Some conservatives are upset, but they appear
to be a long way from booting the speaker
BY RACHAEL BADE
AND KYLE CHENEY
Dona ld T r u mps dea l w it h
Democrats last week the latest
setback for House Republicans in
a year filled with disappointment
has opened a new rift within
the GOP Conference over whether
their president or their speaker is
to blame.
Some House conser vatives
have begun questioning Paul Ry-
ans leadership after Republicans
were forced to swallow a vote to
increase the debt ceiling without
corresponding spending cuts.
Freedom Caucus leaders, already
upset that Congress wasted months
on the failed bid to repeal Obam-
acare, cornered Ryan (R-Wis.) last
Wednesday to tell him he needed to
change his approach.
Some of them believe Ryan
should have done more to sell
Trump on a conservative alterna-
tive to the Democrats offer.
When you fail to prepare, you
typically dont get the best out-
come and you dont have the best
choices at decision-making time
and thats exactly what played
out, Freedom Caucus leader Jim
Jordan (R-Ohio) said. Weve been
very clear that we should have put
together a debt ceiling plan.
Yet that appears to be the mi-
nority view within the conference.
Trumps surprise partnership with
Democrats may have bolstered, at
least temporarily, Ryans standing
among rank-and-file Republicans.
Many lawmakers rallied behind the
speaker and directed their anger
at the White House over the debt
deal. Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin and budget director Mick
Mulvaney were booed when they
came to Capitol Hill to plead with
Republicans to support the deal.
Theres a lot of disappointment
in the decision that the president
made, and the way our leadership
was treated thats a sore spot, Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows
said Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.).
Added Rep. Ryan Costello (R-
Pa.): The leadership is doing
the best that they possibly can
in a very unpredictable environ-
ment. Were one-third of the
government.
The dissension is cresting just as
Republicans turn to tax reform
arguably a taller task than repeal-
ing Obamacare and face a crush
of year-end deadlines. Navigat-
ing that schedule on the heels of
Trumps defiance of GOP leaders
will make for an excruciating next
few months for the speaker.
Theres a lot of disappointment in the decision that the president made,
and the way our leadership was treated thats a sore spot.
While most Republicans say
Ryans hold on his post is secure,
its unclear how long he can main-
tain his grip in the age of Trump.
The GOPs right flank is starting
to agitate against Ryan and Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
(R-Ky.). And the speaker is caught
in an often-impossible position be-
tween a fractious conference and an
unpredictable president.
For now, most Republicans say
this isnt a repeat of John Boehners
ill-fated speakership. Boehner
stepped down amid an uprising
by the right in 2015.
Ryan appeared to receive a boost
from a pair of Washington Post sto-
ries last week suggesting Freedom
Caucus leaders were conspiring
with allies at Breitbart News to find
a replacement for Ryan. Freedom
House deputy whips told POLITICO
(R-N.C.) denied the reports.
If you think that you can do a
better job, man up and put your
name on the ballot and say that
youre running and challenge the
speaker rather than just being Chairman Mark Walker (R-N.C.)
an agitator, said Rep. Tom Rooney
(R-Fla.), a Ryan ally. I get so tired
of these guys that play Monday-
morning quarterback with Paul.
In a statement for this story, Ryan
spokeswoman AshLee Strong said:
The speaker and this conference
are concerned only about one thing:
working together to advance our
agenda.
Rep. Hal Rogers
Still, discontentment inside the
GOP Conference is building.
Even before Trump struck his
deal with House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority
Leader Chuck Schumer, conserva-
tives were seething over news that
House leaders intended to attach a
long-term clean debt ceiling in-
crease to a relief package for Hur-
ricane Harvey victims.
Thatd be a sign of poor leader-
ship if they did that, said Rep. Ted
Yoho (R-Fla.), a Freedom Caucus
member. Because theyre passing
a garbage bill and playing politics
with peoples lives and thats not
the way we ought to legislate.
It wasnt just Freedom Caucus
members who were stung by the
exclusion of spending cuts from the
debt ceiling measure. A number of
ter King (R-N.Y.) said of the Ryan
they also didnt want to vote for a
clean debt ceiling increase; two
suggested that such a vote could
jeopardize Ryans job security.
Republican Study Committee
Thursday, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex-
has also begun openly discussing
his desire to see Ryan take a harder
line against the Senate; House law-
makers have long been frustrated
that the more centrist chamber
dictates the terms of Republican
legislation. Asked Friday whether
he felt Ryan was listening to that
suggestion, Walker said, Were
heading in the wrong direction.
none of them wants to be speaker,
Still, though there are more and
more conversations that people are
frustrated, Walker said he isnt
contemplating a change in lead-
ership. He called Ryan one of the
greatest human beings youll ever
meet.
There has been some talk of, Is
he the guy? Walker said. Hes Thats what were waiting on.
still the guy.
The night that Jordan and Mead-
ows pulled Ryan into a room off the
ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES
House floor to vent their anger, the
Post reported that theyd met with
Breitbart chief Steve Bannon and
were considering alternatives to
Ryan. But Ryan still appears to have
the confidence of a majority of the
conference.
Were talking about a minor-
ity, hopefully thats going to be
isolated more and more, Rep. Pe-
dissenters.
Even some Freedom Caucus
members expressed discomfort
with the criticism of Ryans speak-
ership. In an interview off the floor
as) said he was not unhappy with
Paul and that hes got a tough
job. Ryan has the confidence of
almost everybody in the confer-
ence, Barton added.
Listen, its ridiculous to even
have this conversation, he said.
Paul Ryan is going to be speaker
until he doesnt want to be speaker
or until the Democrats take over the
House.
Asked about Meadows and Jor-
dan, Barton said: Those are my
friends. Theyre good people.
Their heart is in the right place. But
to my knowledge, and even if they
did, the time to do that is after the
next general election.
Its unclear, however, for how
long most of the conference will
blame Trump or the Senate instead
of their own leaders. On Friday,
Meadows, while refuting sugges-
tions he is fomenting opposition
to Ryan, declined to vouch for the
speakers effectiveness.
I think that, obviously, results
speak for themselves, he said.
John Bresnahan contributed to this
report.
T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 | POLITICO | 7
8 | POLITICO | T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7
Corker, a GOP deal-maker in Senate, mulls retirement
Hed be likely to face
a primary challenge
BY BURGESS EVERETT
Bob Corker is undecided about
whether to seek reelection next
year, according to the Tennessee
senator, a development that threat-
ens to reshape the Senates power
structure and Republican attempts
to keep the majority.
Corker, who chairs the influential
Senate Foreign Relations Commit-
tee, is still considering whether to
run for a third term next year. His
retirement would cause a reshuf-
fling on top Senate committees
and potentially tighten the race for
control of the Senate, which heavily
favors Republicans.
I think everyone in the Volun-
teer State knows, as they did in
2012, that running for reelection
has never been an automatic for
me. While we are in a strong posi-
tion, I am still contemplating the
future and will make a decision at
the appropriate time, Corker said
Monday.
Republicans close to Corker said
he is legitimately on the fence about
running again. The 65-year-old
former businessman and mayor
of Chattanooga is weighing how
much of an impact he could make
in a third term versus what he could
accomplish outside the Capitol.
Hes also considering whether to
make what is essentially a seven-
year commitment to the chamber,
including what would be a year-
long battle to keep his seat. While
Tennessee is a deep red state, the
deal-making Corker is likely to face
a primary challenge if he runs for
reelection.
After spending a lifetime in
business, I ran for mayor of Chat-
tanooga as a civic endeavor, and I
continue to do what I do because
I wholeheartedly believe in pub-
lic service. That approach allows
me to truly throw myself into the
job and make decisions based on
what I believe is best for Ten-
nessee and our country without
thinking about the next election
or the next potential opportu-
nity, Corker said.
The possibility that Corker will
retire was first reported by CNN.
But President Donald Trump first
Former presidents add Florida relief to their efforts
BY BRENT D. GRIFFITHS
All five living, former U.S. presi-
dents have officially expanded their
disaster relief appeal to include
Hurricane Irma as the storm,
which was downgraded to a tropical
storm Monday morning, slammed
through Florida and continued into
the Southeast.
According to a statement from
Jim McGrath, former President
George H.W. Bushs spokesman, the
One America Appeal launched
last week will now include the
Florida Disaster Fund, the states
official, private fund established to
assist local communities.
Bush was joined by former Pres-
idents Barack Obama, George W.
Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter
in a public service announcement
released last week, which later aired
nationwide Thursday, during the
Most Republicans believe Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker will seek a third term. President Donald Trump chided Corker after the Tennessean
said Trump had not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate to be successful.
brought to light the senators am- be successful.
bivalence about a third term re- Trump responded a week later:
cently after considering Corker as Strange statement by Bob Corker
both his vice presidential nominee considering that he is constantly
and nominee for secretary of state asking me whether or not he should
last year. run again in 18. Tennessee not
In August, the White House was happy!
While we are in a strong position, I am still
contemplating the future and will make a
decision at the appropriate time.
Sen. Bob Corker
taken aback by Corkers blunt as- Since that back-and-forth, Cork-
sessment of the president. Corker er has maintained contact with top
told reporters in Tennessee that administration officials and views
Trump has not yet been able his relationship with the White
to demonstrate the stability nor House and Trump administration
some of the competence that he as solid, Republican sources said.
needs to demonstrate in order to Still, former White House chief
T he f u nd wa s e s t abl i she d
through the 41st presidents library
and foundation to help respond to
Hurricane Harvey, which resulted
in massive flooding in the Houston
area. For its Hurricane Harvey ef-
forts, the One America Appeal is
working with the Hurricane Harvey
Relief Fund and the Rebuild Texas
Fund.
The second fund was activated
by Florida Gov. Rick Scott. One
POLITICO SCREENGRAB hundred percent of funds donated
Jimmy Carter was joined by George to the Florida Disaster Fund will go
H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. toward disaster-related response
Bush and Barack Obama in a public and recovery because the fund has
service announcement. no overhead costs, Sundays an-
nouncement stated.
P resident Dona ld T r u mp
NFLs season-opener on NBC. tweeted his support for the ef-
Another PSA aired during NFL fort on Thursday writing he was
telecasts on Sunday and again on proud to stand with Presidents
Monday night. for #OneAmericaAppeal.
strategist Steve Bannon is consid-
ering aiding a primary challenger
to Corker, POLITICO reported on
Sunday. The Bannon-led Breitbart
News cheered on Joe Carrs chal-
lenge to GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander
of Tennessee in 2014, though Alex-
ander won the primary by 9 points
and crushed his general election
opponent.
Republicans hold 52 Senate seats
and, with 10 Democrats up for re-
election in states won by Trump,
are seeking to pick up more seats
next year. But a Corker retire-
ment could create an opportunity
for Democrats to go on offense in
Tennessee, particularly if a more
conservative Republican is the GOP
nominee in the state. The GOP is
defending just eight seats next year,
with just two currently viewed as
vulnerable: Nevada and Arizona.
Still, Corker is preparing as if he
is running again, and most Repub-
licans believe he ultimately will.
Rubio rides out Hurricane
Irma at home in Florida
BY IAN KULLGREN
Sen. Marco Rubio, riding out
Hurricane Irma at home in Florida,
says the huge storm is shaping up
to be a worst-case scenario for the
southwestern part of his state.
I am currently in my home here
in West Miami, and it is a nasty,
brutal storm. And we are not even
in the eye of the storm, the Repub-
lican told CBS Sunday on Face the
Nation by phone.
We are going to get the sus-
tained tropical storm winds. We are
getting the gusts from hurricanes,
tornado threats, he added. It is
going to be exponentially worse
everywhere up the west coast
of Florida.
If you live in Naples, in Fort
JOHN SHINKLE/POLITICO
He had $6.5 million as of the end
of June and has raised more money
since. Ward Baker, a Tennessean
who was executive director of the
Senate GOPs campaign arm last
year, is Corkers consultant.
Corker similarly considered re-
tiring in 2012, frustrated over the
chambers gridlock and inability to
pass major legislation. In the years
since, Corker has become a major
aisle-crossing player, working on
the 2013 immigration reform bill,
the Senates 2015 bill to allow a
vote on President Barack Obamas
nuclear deal with Iran and hous-
ing finance reform. Corker is now
angling to make an impact on the
tax reform effort.
If Corker were to win reelection,
Senate rules would allow him to
serve just one more term as Sen-
ate Foreign Relations chairman if
Republicans retain their majority.
He is also a senior member of the
Banking Committee.
Myers, in Sarasota, in the Tampa
Bay region, this storm has the po-
tential to be that sort of worst-case
scenario that meteorologists and
emergency planners dread, Rubio
said.
White House press secretary
Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Sun-
day that President Donald Trump,
who was at Camp David for Cabinet
meetings over the weekend, had
conferred with Rubio and the gov-
ernors of Florida, Alabama, Geor-
gia, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The president and vice presi-
dent are also receiving a briefing
this morning, she said, adding
that White House chief of staff
John Kelly has also been active in
responding to the storm.
T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 | POLITICO | 9
10 | POLITICO | T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7
Bannon plots primaries against some GOP senators
Bid could hurt partys
midterm prospects
BY ALEX ISENSTADT
P resident Don a ld T r u mps
closest allies are planning a slate
of primary challenges against
Republican senators, potentially
undermining the partys prospects
in 2018 and further inflaming ten-
sions between GOP leaders and the
White House.
The effort is led by Steve Bannon,
Trumps bomb-throwing former
chief strategist, who is launching an
all-out war against Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell and the
Republican establishment. Bannon
has begun holding private meetings
with insurgent challengers, vow-
ing his support. Hes coordinating
with conservative megadonor Rob-
ert Mercer, who is prepared to pour
millions of dollars into attacks on
GOP incumbents. Bannon also has
installed a confidant at an outside
group that is expected to target Re-
publican lawmakers and push the
Trump agenda.
The developments have alarmed
senior Republicans, who worry the
effort will drain millions of dollars
from the partys coffers to take on
Democrats in the general elec-
tion. McConnell has repeatedly
expressed concern to the White
House about the danger primaries
pose to his members, stressing that
it could imperil his narrow four-
seat majority, according to three
people with direct knowledge of
the discussions.
The issue is: Do you invest your
time and energy in attacking people
who are carrying this presidents
water in Congress to the benefit of
people who are trying to impeach
him? That seems like an incredibly
short-sighted strategy, said Josh
Holmes, a former McConnell chief
of staff.
Bannon is paying little heed to
those warnings. On Thursday, he
huddled with Danny Tarkanian, an
attorney who is challenging Sen.
Dean Heller (R-Nev.), at the Capi-
tol Hill townhouse that serves as
a base of operations for Breitbart
News, the conservative website
that Bannon oversees.
Bannon made it clear during
the 30-minute meeting that Tar-
kanian had his full backing in the
race against Heller, according to
one person familiar with the con-
versation. Heller refused to endorse
Trump during the 2016 campaign.
Leading the target list is Arizona
Sen. Jeff Flake, an outspoken critic
of the president who recently pub-
lished a book lamenting the rise of
Trump. Bannon is intent on un-
seating Flake, and David Bossie,
the presidents 2016 deputy cam-
paign manager and the president of
the influential conservative group
Citizens United, has embarked on
an effort to recruit several poten-
tial primary challengers, includ-
ing former Rep. Matt Salmon. The
former congressman, however, has
expressed reluctance to enter the
contest.
The anti-incumbent effort could
dramatically reshape the 2018 pri-
mary landscape if it materializes.
It would pit a group of pro-Trump
primary challengers against sitting
lawmakers who are perceived as
more mainstream.
Two other senators could come
Steve Bannon is backing primary challenges against some GOP senators. The bid is a reaction by the base to what is
perceived as an intentional inability to pass the presidents agenda items, according to one conservative strategist.
under attack. Behind the scenes,
Bannon has proposed the possibil-
ity of targeting Tennessee Sen. Bob
Corker, and those close to the former
Trump chief strategist are talking
about the prospect of a challenge to
Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker.
Corker had long been consid-
ered a Trump ally and in the mix
to become secretary of state, but
has since angered the presidents
supporters with recent comments
in which he questioned Trumps
competence. Shortly after Ban-
non left the White House and re-
turned to Breitbart last month, the
site published a story promoting a
potential Corker challenger, state
Sen. Mark Green. The site has also
hyped the possibility that state Sen.
Chris McDaniel, a tea party favor-
Do you invest your time and energy in attacking people who are carrying
this presidents water in Congress to the benet of people who are trying to
impeach him? That seems like an incredibly short-sighted strategy.
ite, will take on Wicker.
Bannon is firing his opening shot
in the Alabama Senate special elec-
tion, squaring off against McCon-
nell in a race the Senate leader and
his allies have spent millions of
dollars to win.
While Bannon is behind contro-
versial former state Supreme Court
Chief Justice Roy Moore, McCon-
nell has gone all in for Sen. Luther
Strange, who was appointed early
this year to temporarily fill the seat
after Jeff Sessions became attorney
general. Speaking to prominent
GOP activists at a Conservative
Action Project meeting and on a
Judicial Watch conference call re-
cently, Bannon portrayed the Sept.
26 primary as a defining battle be-
tween the conservative base and
Josh Holmes A former McConnell chief of staff.
CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES
GOP establishment.
Trump endorsed Strange before
the first round of voting in mid-
August but has since done little to
promote him. Recent polling has
shown Moore with a significant
lead.
A Strange loss would be an em-
barrassment for McConnell and
open the floodgates for other GOP
primary challenges, Bannon has
said. On Thursday, Bannon and
Bossie met separately with Moore
in Washington.
Its not the first time Bannon has
gone after the GOP establishment in
Senate primaries. During the 2014
midterms, Breitbart, under Ban-
nons leadership, promoted several
insurgent challengers, including
physician Milton Wolf in Kansas
and former state Rep. Joe Carr in
Tennessee. None of the Breitbart-
backed candidates won, but the
effort sapped the party leadership
of millions of dollars.
This time around, Bannon is
almost certain to rely on funding
from Mercer, a reclusive hedge-
fund manager who has long funded
his political projects. After exit-
ing the White House, Bannon left
Washington for Long Island, New
York, where he spent five days
meeting with the billionaire.
Mercer, who was one of Trumps
top donors during the 2016 cam-
paign, has expressed a desire to go
after sitting GOP lawmakers, ac-
cording to three people with direct
knowledge of his thinking. He has
already donated $300,000 to an
anti-Flake super PAC and has indi-
cated that hes interested in giving
more to unseat the senator.
Bannon has taken preliminary
steps to establish a political struc-
ture that could be used in 2018 rac-
es. It was recently announced that
his political adviser, Andrew Sura-
bian, was leaving the White House
to take a job at Great America Alli-
ance, a pro-Trump outside group.
I dont think anyone should be
surprised at primary challenges in
GOP Senate races, especially against
those senators that have appeared
to be less than helpful to the Trump
agenda. And I think those primary
challengers will be well-funded,
said Ned Ryun, a conservative strat-
egist who has written for Breitbart.
Its a natural reaction by the base
to what theyve perceived as a per-
haps intentional inability to pass any
Trump agenda items.
GOP leaders are racing to pro-
tect their lawmakers. Senate Ma-
jority Whip John Cornyn recently
organized a pair of fundraisers in
his home state of Texas to jointly
benefit Heller and Flake. Those
events were canceled after Hur-
ricane Harvey but are expected to
be rescheduled. One was set to be
at the Dallas home of billionaire
Robert Rowling, who owns Omni
Hotels and Golds Gym. It offered
a reception and photo op and asked
for contributions up to $44,700,
according to an invitation.
Heller has taken steps to repair
his relationship with the White
House. After Trump delivered a
speech before the American Le-
gion in Reno in which he called for
national unity, the senator called
the president and complimented
him on his remarks, according to
one person familiar with the ex-
change. After initially attacking the
Trump-led effort to repeal Obam-
acare, Heller ultimately backed leg-
islation to reverse the law.
There are indications the of-
fensive has paid off. On Friday
evening, Las Vegas casino mogul
Steve Wynn, Trumps handpicked
Republican National Committee
finance chairman, gave Heller a
full-throated endorsement dur-
ing a speech at a Nevada Republican
Party fundraising dinner.
But Tarkanian is plowing ahead.
He said Trump supporters in Ne-
vada felt betrayed by Heller and
have been flocking to his campaign.
I got in the race with the hope
that there would be enthusiasm
for my candidacy, and its far ex-
ceeded my hope, Tarkanian said.
Theres a lot of frustration with
Dean Heller.
 T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 | POLITICO | 11

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Kaine looks forward, but the specter of 2016 lingers

KAINE from page 1
there are constant reminders of
the last one the only election hes
ever lost. Trump, it seems, looms
over everything.
Kaine isnt interested in reliti-
gating one of the biggest electoral
upsets in U.S. history. He looks vis-
ibly uncomfortable talking about
the election and cautions against
overinterpreting what went
wrong.
Still, as Kaine sips coffee and
takes selfies with supporters who
recognize their senator, one cant
help but detect some lingering re-
sentment over the fact that voters
rejected him and Hillary Clinton for
a reality TV star. Trump has fre-
quently done things that I think are
shocking for a president to do, but
nothing hes done has been surpris-
ing, Kaine says. There is noth-
ing this guy has done that should
surprise a person in this country
based on the person he was before
he took the oath of office.
But Kaine isnt questioning
Trumps legitimacy or pining for
his impeachment, saying he still
hopes Trump will be a good presi-
dent and wants to work with his
administration on issues of mutual
interest, like infrastructure.
Look, he was elected by 63 mil-
lion people in the electoral college,
Kaine says. He will be president
for four years. I think you have to
assume that he will.
Instead, the 59-year-old sena- JULIA RENDLEMAN/AP
tor is fighting Trumps agenda in Sen. Tim Kaine visits a makeshift memorial last month, where Heather Heyer was killed during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. Why did
the Senate and focusing on whats they come to Virginia? Kaine said, noting that most of the participants were from out of state. These people hate to see Virginia moving forward.
next: a statewide race in Virginia
that will be one of the first chances
for Democrats to deliver a major these campaign stops to test the who once retweeted a supporter has not read an advance copy and the party out of the wilderness in
electoral rebuke to Trump. Hes messages hell be delivering when who wrote that Kaine looks like doesnt plan to have any role in her 2020. He insists he has no presiden-
working to bolster Northam and he begins stumping for himself next an evil crook out of the Batman book tour. His first few conversa- tial ambitions and wants to emulate
others running in Virginias off- year in his first-ever real reelection movies. tions with Clinton, he says, were the 30-year Senate career of former
year election this November. contest. Even Kaines reelection cam- more about looking in the rearview Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), a fam-
After that, he says hell turn his I like being out on the trail a lot, paign next year might not offer mirror. But their more recent chats ily friend of Kaines who retired in
attention to 2018. Kaine is urging and it is a little bit easier when your him the chance to move past 2016. have been about looking in the 2009.
Democrats to prioritize next years name isnt on the ballot, he says. His only declared Republican windshield. Im going to consider this the
midterm elections over the 2020 Still, when youre Kaine, theres challenger so far is Corey Stew- For Hillary, its harder because last job Ill ever hold, says Kaine,
presidential contest. no escaping 2016. art, a staunch Trump backer who she has to grapple with, OK, whats whose past positions include Rich-
Theres a lot of skirmishing to In Charlottesville, he is greeted sought to channel the real estate next? he says. I didnt have to mond mayor, Virginia lieutenant
grab the microphone for 2020, by University of Virginia students mogul during a bid for the GOP sort of decide whats next. Im in governor and then governor. He
he says. If we have a good 2018, wearing Stronger Together jack- nomination for governor that he the Senate, and the Senate has offers the obligatory addendum
I think well do fine in 2020. If we ets. At a campaign event in New- narrowly lost. A race against Stew- even gotten more important be- that he could be voted out and
have a bad 2018, it will be incred- port News, hes introduced to the art would almost certainly repre- cause I think the Senate is playing that you cant get presumptuous.
ibly demoralizing and really hurt crowd by Democratic Rep. Bobby sent a rematch between the centrist more of the role of the adult in the Its at this point that Holton
us in 2020. Scott as the man who should have vision put forward by Clinton and room right now for the American chimes in to underscore her hus-
Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton, been our vice president. Kaine, and the take-no-prisoners government. bands decision to rule out a White
discussed the senators future in a House bid. I ruled it out before he
wide-ranging interview on a re- did, says Holton, a former Virginia
cent Saturday at a diner called the secretary of education. Ive always
Nook on Charlottesvilles Down- For Hillary, its harder because she has to grapple with, OK, whats next? thought that the office hes in is
town Mall. It was just a block most important.
from where 32-year-old Heather I didnt have to sort of decide whats next. Im in the Senate, and the Senate Kaine adds that he knows my
Heyer was killed last month when home state and being part of the
a man drove his car into a crowd of
has even gotten more important because I think the Senate is playing more of political and economic and social
counterprotesters during a white the role of the adult in the room right now for the American government. progress of my state is what Im
supremacist rally. really interested in. He says his
Kaine and Holton both ap- Sen. Tim Kaine committee assignments Armed
pear disgusted as they reflect on Services, Foreign Relations, Budget
Trumps reaction to the rally that and Health, Education, Labor and
brought Nazis and members of the Pensions have positioned him
Ku Klux Klan to their state. Why Even Kaines own stump speech approach of the populist conserva- He rejects the notion that their well to have a major long-term
did they come to Virginia? Kaine seeks to make sense of an election tive forces that powered Trumps defeat represented a rebuke of impact in the Senate, both on the
asks, noting that most of the par- that many on the left are still strug- victory. his and Clintons moderate ap- national stage and on issues of
ticipants were from out of state. If gling coming to terms with. He And then theres Clinton. Af- proach, calling the schism in the importance to his military-heavy
you have a fantasy about the Civil reminds his audiences that he and ter retreating from the public eye Democratic Party superficial. home state.
War, Virginia plays a role in your Clinton won the popular vote, and for months, the former secretary He adds, though, that the party In Virginia, after all, he and Clin-
psychosis. These people hate to see knocks Trump for promising voters of state is launching a book tour needs a more compelling eco- ton were the winners of last years
Virginia moving forward. greatness without offering any this month for her new campaign nomic message, pointing to an presidential contest.
The interview comes amid a evidence of goodness. memoir, What Happened. Many op-ed he wrote in USA Today in Virginia has seen too many
campaign blitz for Kaine 13 For Kaine, a harmonica-play- Democrats are dreading having to which he said Democrats should people like Donald Trump in our
events in three days with Northam ing former missionary whose relive the 2016 nightmare. focus on growth and touted what history demagogues who didnt
and the states Democratic candi- aw-shucks demeanor during the Kaine says hes been in touch has become the partys new slogan, understand the virtue of the Jeffer-
dates for lieutenant governor and presidential race earned him a with Clinton a number of times Better skills, better jobs and bet- sonian equality principle, he says.
attorney general, Justin Fairfax and reputation as Americas dad, this over the phone, text and email since ter wages. Weve seen Donald Trump before.
Mark Herring. Its a bit of a warm- is about the most stinging invective the election. But the senator, who But Kaine says hes not putting In this state, weve put it behind us.
up act for the senator, whos using hes willing to hurl at a president tries to get through a book a week, himself forward as the one to lead Weve shut the door.
 T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 | POLITICO | 13

Gillibrand seeks a delay on transgender troop ban

DEFENSE from page 1
administration on several issues.
We have some controver-
sial amendments, McCain told
POLITICO. We always do.
One of the most high-profile
amendment fights could be over
Trumps decision to reinstate a ban
on transgender troops.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)
has filed an amendment to delay
forcing transgender individu-
als out of the military or altering
their health benefits until Defense
Secretary James Mattis completes
a review of the issue.
Trump formally reinstated the
ban on transgender service mem-
bers in August and gave Mattis
six months to submit a plan to
implement the new policy, which
prohibits funding for most gender-
reassignment surgeries. Trump
would also leave the decision of
whether to remove currently serv-
ing transgender troops to Mattis.
Several lawsuits have been filed to
stop the ban.
McCain, for his part, has sig-
naled support for waiting until the
Pentagon completes its review to
put any new policy in place.
It would be a step in the wrong
direction to force currently serving
transgender individuals to leave
the military solely on the basis of
their gender identity rather than
medical and readiness standards MANUEL BALCE CENETA/AP
that should always be at the heart Sen. John McCain has signaled support for waiting until the Pentagon completes its review on transgender troops to put any new policy in place, but
of Department of Defense person- McCain and other defense hawks will oppose Sen. Rand Pauls amendment to repeal war resolutions enacted in 2001 and 2002.
nel policy, the senator said last
month.
Meanwhile, Sen. Rand Paul (R- come the legal underpinning for the Pauls amendment could be a The Pentagon, citing the cost of gons request for base closures in
Ky.) is trying to use the defense bill entire U.S. war on terror, including tough vote for some senators who maintaining unneeded infrastruc- recent years, citing the hefty cost
to force Congress to debate its war current military operations in Iraq have called for a new AUMF, but it ture, claims a new round of base re- of the 2005 BRAC round.
powers something lawmakers and Syria. The 2002 AUMF autho- will meet fierce opposition from alignment and closure, or BRAC, Still, McCain argued in an in-
have been ducking for years despite rized the war in Iraq and has never McCain and other defense hawks would save up to $2 billion a year. terview that his new proposal is
calls by members of both parties to been explicitly repealed. who oppose setting limits on the B u t M c C a i ns a n d R e e ds gaining traction.
take up the issue. Everybody up here acts all high president. amendment will likely be an up- I think theres growing sup-
Paul is pushing an amendment and mighty like they want to vote McCain and his panels top Dem- hill fight, as lawmakers have been port for it, he said. But you never
that would repeal the 2001 and 2002 for a new AUMF, but the way youll ocrat, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, reluctant to allow the military to know, especially when its a home-
war resolutions after six months. do it is if you force the sunset of the are also pushing senators to grant begin a planning effort that could town issue.
The 2001 authorization for use of old ones, Paul said. So my bill the militarys request to shutter put their home-state bases at risk
military force was passed ahead of would actually force a debate on bases an extremely controversial of closure. Burgess Everett contributed to this
the war in Afghanistan and has be- an AUMF. issue across the political spectrum. Congress has denied the Penta- report.

President takes travel-ban exemption fight back to SCOTUS

BY JOSH GERSTEIN
The Trump administration is
returning to the Supreme Court
in an effort to overturn lower court
rulings crimping the application of
President Donald Trumps travel
ban executive order.
Justice Department lawyers
asked the high court Monday to al-
low authorities to keep up a block on
many refugees covered by Trumps
ban.
However, the administration
threw in the towel for now on ef-
forts to insist that grandparents,
aunts, uncles and cousins of U.S.
citizens be covered by the ban de-
spite the Supreme Court order-
ing an exemption for close family
members.
A federal judge in Hawaii ruled
against the federal government on
both issues in July. Last week, a 9th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel
declined to disturb that ruling.
The dispute taken to the justices
Monday addresses how much of the
travel ban can be enforced until the
Supreme Court rules on the broader
issues. The justices are scheduled
to hear arguments Oct. 10 on a pair
of cases related to the ban.
At issue are about 24,000 refu-
gees who have been assigned to U.S.
refugee resettlement agencies but
not yet given final approval to de-
part for the U.S.
U.S. District Court Judge Derrick
Watson agreed with the State of
Hawaii and advocates for refugees
that the assignment to an American
agency was a sufficient connection
to a U.S. entity to qualify for the
temporary travel-ban reprieve the
Supreme Court ordered in June
when it agreed to decide the broader
legality of the travel ban.
Justice Department lawyers ar-
gued against that interpretation,
noting that it would fill the pipeline
for refugee applicants and essen-
tially nullify the partial stay the
high court granted in June in an
apparent compromise.
The Ninth Circuits decision
renders the June 26 stay func-
tionally inoperative, acting So-
licitor General Jeff Wall argued in
the filing Monday. It makes no
sense to exempt from the Or-
der the roughly 24,000 refugees
for whom assurances exist, based
on the happenstance that they
had reached a later stage of the
administrative process in which
the government routinely obtains
assurances.
Justice Anthony Kennedy issued
a temporary stay Monday afternoon
that essentially freezes the status
quo. Without such an action, Wat-
sons order would have kicked in
Tuesday, with the administration
required to dramatically increase
its admission of refugees.
Kennedy ordered Hawaiis attor-
neys to respond by noon Tuesday
and said the temporary stay will
remain in place pending a further
order from him or the full court.
The revised travel ban Trump
issued in March suspends issu-
ance of U.S. visas to residents of
six majority-Muslim countries
for 90 days and halts admission of
refugees from across the globe for
120 days.
Those clocks, which began run-
ning in late June, may have con-
tributed to the administrations
decision to give up on enforcing
the travel ban against the broader
set of relatives given a reprieve by
the lower courts. Due to court rul-
ings, grandparents, aunts, uncles
and cousins have been immune
from the ban for the past couple
of months, so those seeking vi-
sas may have been aware of the
legal fight and have already got-
ten them.
And with the six-country visa
ban set to run out Sept. 24, few visa
applicants would be affected even
if the courts narrowed the family
exemption.
In the Monday filing, Wall noted
that the Supreme Court previously
declined a request from the federal
government to block the family-
related aspect of Watsons order.
In addition, the lower courts
line-drawing error in that regard
is less stark than their nullifica-
tion of both the Orders refugee
provisions and this Courts stays
permitting implementation of
those provisions, he wrote as he
explained why the family issue was
being dropped.
Thousands of refugees could be
affected if the lower court rulings
kick in, although the timing there
is also uncertain. Refugee admis-
sions are capped by fiscal year,
which ends Sept. 30. Trump could
try to block or reduce the admis-
sion of refugees after that date by
setting that allocation to zero or a
low figure.
President Barack Obama had set
the cap for this year at 110,000,
although for budget and capacity
reasons far fewer refugees were
expected to be admitted. Trump
attempted to lower the cap to
50,000 for this year, but court
rulings have effectively blocked
that move.
T he g loba l ref ugee h a lt i n
Trumps revised executive order
runs out in late October, about
two weeks after the scheduled
oral arguments at the high court.
A ruling in the presidents favor
could empower him to reinstate
or extend the travel ban orders or
to implement something similar on
a permanent basis.
Its also possible that the admin-
istration could try to scuttle the le-
gal dispute by declaring the issues
moot as a result of the expiration
of the key provisions of Trumps
orders.
14 | POLITICO | T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7

Some say Arkansas Rep. Steve Womack is the front-runner to become the next Budget Committee chairman. He is not the most senior member on the
panel, but he has a good reputation with leadership and conservatives alike and helped raise a boatload of money for the NRCC.
Republicans eye Budget panels top slot
VACANCY from page 1
the chairmanship, Womack said.
These are very important times
for our majority and I think the
Budget Committee will be very
critical in establishing the right
framework whereby a sustainable
fiscal policy can be crafted that can
reach many of the outcomes that
a majority of our majority would
like to see.
The next chairman would take
the gavel at a critical time for Re-
publicans. The party has failed to
repeal Obamacare, fund Trumps
border wall, or otherwise secure
a single major legislative victory.
Tax reform therefore looms large,
with many in the GOP seeing it as
a must-have to avoid a blood bath
in 2018.
But to unlock the fast-tracking
procedural tool enabling Republi-
cans to circumvent the Senates 60-
vote threshold and pass a partisan
tax package, GOP lawmakers have
to pass an identical budget through
the House and Senate.
Thats where the new budget
chairman will be critical. Even if
the House clears Blacks fiscal blue-
print in the coming weeks, Senate
budget writers are expected to write
a much different plan, jump-start-
ing a series of high-level bicameral
negotiations between budget chair-
men about what a deal might look
like.
There will be plenty of drama.
Several senior Republican sources
said the final deal might be a shell
budget that simply includes in-
structions for tax reform but makes
no major cuts to mandatory spend-
ing programs, as the Houses cur-
rent draft proposes. That would
meet with stiff resistance from
conservatives, who were promised
by GOP leaders that they would not
have to vote on text that includes
no serious reforms.
The next budget chairman will
have to strike a tricky balance
between conservatives eager for
spending cuts and House GOP
leaders dealing with the more
moderate-minded Senate.
Many thought Rep. Todd Rokita
of Indiana Budget Committee
vice chairman would replace
Black. But the budget wonk de-
cided to run for Senate in Indiana
instead and is locking horns with
Rep. Luke Messer in the hotly con-
tested primary.
The next two most-senior mem-
bers, Republican Reps. Tom Cole of
Oklahoma and Mario Diaz Balart of
Florida, are both senior members of
the Appropriations panel and dont
want to give up their subcommit-
tee gavels on the powerful spending
committee.
Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.)
and Woodall come next, and sourc-
es say both are interested, though
McClintocks office did not respond
to request for comment.
Woodall, a Georgia Republican,
said his goal would be getting [the alone.
committee] out of the messaging
business and translating that into
action, along with tackling budget
process reform.
In the minority, you think of a
messaging document. In the ma-
jority, it is a framework for how to
get things done, he said. So what
are those things we could get done
together? My goal would be to find
those items.
Womack is considered the front-
runner because of his leadership
experience. He sits on the deputy
whip team and often exceeds dues
to the NRCC something the
House Republican Steering Com-
mittee takes into account when
choosing chairmen.
The former mayor, who spent 30
years in the Army National Guard,
would want to retain his post on the
Appropriations Committee, where
he is next in line for a subcommit-
tee gavel. A spot is opening up with
Rep. Charlie Dent, an Appropria-
tions subcommittee chief, retiring
next year.
Like many Budget Republicans,
Womack has admired Blacks work
on the current budget plan, which
includes $200 billion in mandatory
spending cuts thats garnered ap-
plause from conservatives. Wom-
ack says hed like to continue in
that vein, arguing that reducing the
national debt cannot be satisfied
T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 | POLITICO | 15
ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES
by cutting discretionary spending
Committee. The trade group has
With the deficits were talking
about, it is absolutely important to
have the conversation about whats
going on on the mandatory side,
he said.
Womack also argued that the
budget is critical for tax reform.
Its important for Republicans
to keep their eye on the collective
prize, and right now, if its not
health care, it has to be tax reform,
he said. This [is] an area we cant
stumble, so we need to be all hands
on deck on the vehicle that will give
us tax reform.
Johnson of Ohio, an early Trump
defender in the House, is also con-
sidering a bid for the chairmanship.
Elected in 2010, the former Air
Force lieutenant colonel has always
kept a lower profile on the Hill but
also has a good reputation with
leadership. He currently serves as
an NRCC vice chair.
I have dealt with budgets my
entire life, whether it was on the
mule farm, or in my Air Force ca-
reer, or as a corporate executive,
Johnson said, in making his pitch.
Passing a budget is foundational
to our constitutional mandate.
Theres not much thats more im-
portant in fact in the big scheme
of things than passing a budget,
balancing a budget and managing
our nations financial and fiscal
health.
POLITICO INFLUENCE
Welcome to PI. Tips always
welcome: tmeyer@politico.com.
Monument adds Senate
Judiciary staffer
Chan Park is leaving the Hill to
join Monument Policy Group
as a principal. Park spent the
past eight years working for the
Senate Judiciary Committee,
serving as general counsel to
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein,
the committees ranking
Democratic member, and before
that to Sen. Patrick Leahy
(D-Vt.) when he was ranking
member. Park will be lobbying
for Monument on issues at the
intersection of technology,
law and privacy, he said in an
interview, including government
surveillance, law enforcement
access to data and antitrust
issues. Before heading to the
Hill, Park worked as a federal
prosecutor in Maryland.
Q As a senior staffer, Park will be
banned from lobbying the Senate
for one year after leaving. He said
he wasnt worried about heading
downtown as a Democrat in
President Donald Trumps
Washington. (Monument is a
bipartisan firm; Stewart Verdery,
its founder, is a veteran of George
W. Bushs administration.)
National Association of
Manufacturers adds three
The National Association of
Manufacturers is beefing up its
communications team, adding
Michael Short as senior director
of strategic communications and
Andrew Clark as manager of digital
communications. Short worked as
senior assistant press secretary at
the White House before resigning
during Anthony Scaramuccis
brief reign in the White House
press shop. Clark was previously
a contributing content editor at
Independent Journal Review and
before that worked for the National
Republican Congressional
also hired Chris Netram, a former
staffer for Rep. Vern Buchanan
(R-Fla.), as vice president for tax
and domestic economic policy, and
promoted Keith Smith to senior
vice president for public affairs and
mobilization and Jennifer Drogus
to vice president for executive
operations and strategy.
Qatar brings on another
lobbying firm
Qatar has hired yet another
Washington lobbying firm, part
of a multimillion-dollar push
for influence as its diplomatic
standoff with Saudi Arabia drags
into its fourth month. Qatar
will pay Stonington Strategies
$50,000 per month to work on the
development and implement of
a government relations strategy,
according to the contract filed
with the Justice Department. The
contract lasts one year. Qatar has
added six other firms over the past
few months, including Avenue
Strategies Global; Information
Management Services; LEVICK;
McDermott Will & Emery; Nelson
Mullins; and former Attorney
General John Ashcrofts firm.
Some of those firms have hired
subcontractors as well. Over the
summer, Qatar was spending at
least $1.7 million per month.
Theodoric Meyer
16 | POLITICO | T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7
2020 Democratic hopefuls follow trail Bernie blazed
LIBERALS from page 1
Steve Bullock are hiring political
teams. Even a handful of mayors
have started getting into the action.
Indeed, the lions share of activ-
ity among potential 2020 hopefuls
so far is on the progressive end of
the Democratic spectrum an
indication of a broader ideological
swing in a party struggling to be
seen as more populist.
The maneuvers shed light not
only on the contours of Democrats
aggressive march toward 2020, but
also how fundamentally Sanders
2016 bid reshaped ambitious pols
views of what arguments break
through in the age of President
Donald Trump.
Of the names being talked about
[California Sen. Kamala] Harris,
[Los Angeles Mayor Eric] Garcetti,
[Connecticut Sen. Chris] Murphy,
[New York Sen. Kirsten] Gillibrand,
and a long list of others almost
all have staked out positions on
Medicare-for-all, immigration
and the economy which are more
progressive than any Democratic
nominee since 1972, said Howard
Dean, a former Vermont governor
and Democratic National Commit-
tee chairman who ran for president
as a liberal insurgent in 2004.
Its about damn time, added
retired Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, the
liberal stalwart who ran for presi-
dent in 1992.
Across the country, Democratic
pols have flocked to embrace many
of the policy proposals that animat-
ed Sanders 2016 campaign, from
increasing the minimum wage to
lightening college debt loads. And
in the Senate, the health care debate
has revealed a similar dynamic: po-
tential 2020 hopefuls Harris, War-
ren, Merkley, Gillibrand and New
Jersey Sen. Cory Booker have an-
nounced they will co-sponsor their
Vermont colleagues Medicare-for-
all bill, and Murphy has proposed
an alternative to a single-payer
system while praising Sanders.
Sanders still looms large enough
that for Democrats considering
presidential runs, the first ques-
tion they must consider is how a
potential Sanders bid would affect
their own campaign, said multiple
leading Democratic operatives. The
Vermont independent has refused
to rule out a 2020 run and has made
political waves by visiting early
voting states Iowa and New Hamp-
California, three other states file suit against Trump over DACA
BY DAVID SIDERS
LOS A NGELES Ca lifornia and
three other states on Monday
added to a barrage of states chal-
lenging President Donald Trumps
decision to rescind protections for
undocumented people brought
to the United States illegally as
children.
The lawsuit, in which California
was joined by Minnesota, Mary-
land and Maine, comes five days
after 15 states and the District of
Columbia initially filed charges to
defend the Obama-era Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals
program.
Flanked by two DACA recipi-
ents in Sacramento, California
Attorney General Xavier Becerra
called Trumps order unlawful
Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker are two of the many liberal
Democrats laying the groundwork for a possible 2020 presidential run.
shire repeatedly this summer.
Sanders who remains in touch
with Harkin, and whose top two
2016 Iowa operatives are back in the
state has also made political trips
to battleground states including
Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
But his presence hasnt stopped
other potential presidential hope-
fuls from moving toward running,
even as they are quick to give him
partial credit for forcing the party
to move left.
The primary electorates expec-
tations have started moving as well,
according to party officials in in-
fluential states.
Its migrating that way due to
the influence of Bernie Sanders and
the impact he had of drawing in that
group of people, said Linn County,
and mean-spirited, arguing it
violates due process provisions of
the Constitution and would hurt
the economy in the nations most
populous state.
You dont become the sixth-
largest economy in the world just
because, Becerra said. It just so
happens that one of every four of
the DACA recipients in this country
some 200,000 live and work
and call California their home, and
theyve been helping California be-
come the sixth-largest economy in
the world.
He said repealing DACA would
unfairly punish productive, law-
abiding young people and that the
economic cost of deporting them
would be felt by California busi-
nesses, California local govern-
at Harkins institute at Drake
PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS/AP
Iowa, Democratic Party Chairman
Bret Nilles. That wing of the party
is starting to become more vocal
and more engaged.
Aside from Sanders, Warren
is the most prominent potential
prog ressive contender, much
as in the run-up to 2016, when
pieces of the apparatus dedicated
to drafting her turned into the
basis for Sanders campaign. She
is holding donor meetings, hav-
ing sit-downs with influential
activists and making speeches to
liberal groups like those gathered
at last months Netroots Nation
conference. In the run-up to her
2018 reelection and possible 2020
bid, she has also brought on new
digital staffers in a likely prelude
to a grass-roots fundraising and
ments who have depended on the
economic success of the DACA
program.
The Trump administration has
said the Obama-era executive order
is unconstitutional, while Trump
said last week that he will delay
ending DACA for six months to give
lawmakers time to craft a legisla-
tive solution to protect so-called
Dreamers.
More than 200,000 DACA re-
cipients live in California, about
one i n ever y fou r recipients
nationwide.
The University of California and
its president, Janet Napolitano,
on Friday filed a separate lawsuit
against the administration in an
attempt to preserve the DACA
program.
organizing campaign like the one
Sanders ran nationwide.
Sanders lone Senate endorser
in 2016, Merkley is also taking
far more advanced steps toward
a potential bid than is widely
recognized.
For months, Merkley has been
convening liberal outside groups
in his Senate office every two
weeks to help guide the messag-
ing and tactics of the Trump op-
position. Beginning as an effort to
talk about pressuring a President
Hillary Clinton on Cabinet picks,
Merkleys meetings have turned
into convening points for sena-
tors including Warren, Sanders,
Harris, Murphy, Booker and other
possible 2020 hopefuls like Ohios
Sherrod Brown, in addition to Ha-
waiis Brian Schatz.
Merkley is also increasing his
presence in early voting states.
After placing an op-ed in The Des
Moines Register just before Labor
Day praising Iowas long, proud
populist tradition and noting its
outsized role in national politics
the second-term senator swung
through Iowas capital over the
weekend for an event hosted by
the Progress Iowa group and town
hall-style meetings with students
National Committee is taking a
University.
Merkley who, like Sanders,
keeps in touch with Harkin also
scheduled roughly half a dozen pri-
vate weekend meetings with local
donors and liberal activists who are
central to the nominating process.
But with Democrats viewing
Trump as vulnerable, and upstart
progressives feeding off grass-
roots energy, the list of potential
left-leaning contenders goes far
beyond the traditional Senate and
gubernatorial routes.
Theres a big reset happening in
the Democratic Party right now, so
you might as well get out there,
said Sean Bagniewski, chairman
of Iowas Polk County Democratic
Party. People who are calling Iowa
have three traits: Theyre a new
face in some ways, theyre bolder
in their message they know were
not going to beat Trump by being
Trump, but times are drastic and
theres a much more economic fo-
cus than ever before.
Former Missouri Secretary of
State Jason Kander, for one, has told
donors he sees room for a possible
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said DACA recipients have
helped his state become one of the largest economies in the world.
nationwide run within Sanders
political lane. After falling short
with a 2016 Senate bid, Kander
launched a voting rights group and
quickly became a mainstay in the
state Democratic Party speaking
circuit. Hes made multiple visits
to both New Hampshire which
he quietly visited last week to have
drinks with the board of the Young
Democrats group and Iowa.
Activists immediately ascribed
presidential intentions to his
groups move last month to open
field offices in Iowa, New Hamp-
shire and fellow early-voting state
Nevada, dispatching his former
campaign manager to run the show
in Iowa.
And Garcetti, who visited New
Hampshire last month, isnt the
only mayor making moves.
New York City Mayor Bill de Bla-
sio has talked to political allies and
donors about carving out a broader
national stature after whats ex-
pected to be a wide reelection vic-
tory later this year, pitching the
idea of doing a speaking tour all
over the country.
Even Pete Butt ig ieg t he
35-year-old mayor of South Bend,
Indiana, who this year ran unsuc-
cessfully to lead the Democratic
run at it, with four events in central
Iowa over the weekend.
Well stand up to a president
who cheapens the most respected
office in our land with the heart of
a miser, the mind of a cheater, and
the soul of a schoolyard bully, But-
tigieg said there on Sunday.
Centrist Democrats have for
months chafed at the notion that
Sanders ideas and politics are as-
cendant within the party.
But so far before the voting pro-
cess formally starts, the potential
left-wing contenders have faced
little blowback.
For too long, liberals, progres-
sives, whatever you want to call
them, have been following the
polls to a deleterious effect. Theyre
chasing poll numbers around, said
Harkin, embracing the shift.
Politics is essentially winning
the hearts and minds of people,
and you cant win the hearts and
minds of people by telling them
that youve lost yours, and could
they please point you in the right
direction. And thats what weve
been doing.
DON THOMPSON/AP
 T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 | POLITICO | 17

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18 | POLITICO | T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7

Ex-Sessions aides paths diverge in Trumps W.H.

Miller, Dearborn have
contrasting styles
BY ANDREW RESTUCCIA,
NANCY COOK AND JOSH DAWSEY
In Donald Trumps White House,
few tales about power are more in-
structive than the story of Jeff Ses-
sions two former top aides.
Both Stephen Miller, Trumps se-
nior policy adviser, and Rick Dear-
born, a White House deputy chief
of staff, started out in the same
place as top congressional aides
in Sessions Senate office. Together,
they worked as Trump campaign
advisers and then won senior ad-
ministration jobs.
But while Miller has rapidly
accumulated power in the West
Wing by personally advising the
president on high-profile policy
questions, such as immigration,
and publicly defending Trump on
television and in the briefing room,
Dearborn has become increasingly
marginalized, having struggled to
form a close bond with the presi-
dent, new chief of staff John Kelly
and Trumps family.
Their diverging stock in the ad-
ministration offers a case study
in how to thrive in Trumps West
Wing. Among the lessons: The
president often responds to aides
who mirror his big personality,
while wallflowers tend to be ig-
nored. And the president deeply
values loyalty to himself, with
little interest in the relationships SUSAN WALSH/AP
top aides and other staffers bring Trump deputy chief of staff for policy Rick Dearborn (left) and senior policy adviser Stephen Miller have contrasting styles since they left the Senate
into the West Wing. But getting office of now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to join the West Wing: Dearborn is low prole, while Miller is an outspoken defender of Trump on TV.
close to the president has its risks,
as the long list of former Trump
White House aides shows. Short operates largely on his own. Wing. As a result, he has fielded a pected to stay. Trump has improved slightly since
This account is based on inter- When Katie Walsh, who was range of complaints from Cabinet One senior administration offi- July, when the president was openly
views with nearly a dozen admin- also a deputy chief of staff, left secretaries, according to two ad- cial said Dearborns future in the berating him on Twitter. But as
istration officials, outside advisers the White House, Dearborn tem- ministration officials, who added White House is unstable but added Sessions influence in Trumps orbit
to the president and associates of porarily took over Trumps sched- that he does not have the kind of that hes likely safe for now. reached a low point this summer,
Miller and Dearborn. Dearborn and ule. But that job, which one White close personal relationship with In contrast, Miller has a warmer Millers cachet was actually surg-
Miller declined to be interviewed House aide said had turned into Trump that Miller has. relationship with Kelly. The two ing. Two administration officials
for this article, and a White House a monster task, has since been Rick is a steady hand who you worked closely together on immi- said Miller distanced himself from
spokeswoman did not respond to transferred to Joe Hagin, another can talk to over there, said Trent gration issues during Kellys stint Sessions at the height of Trumps
requests for comment. deputy chief of staff, according to Lott, a lobbyist and former Sen- as homeland security secretary and anger with the former Alabama
Dearborn, who served as the top two administration officials. Now, ate majority leader. He knows all sometimes spoke several times a senator.
staffer in Sessions Senate office for Dearborn largely focuses on inter- the chiefs of staffs and the deputy day about immigration policy. Miller, according to one senior
more than a decade and is now one acting with outside groups. chiefs on the Hill. And as Kelly works to impose White House aide, has risen to a
of three deputy chiefs of staff, chose Dearborns relationship with Dearborn also has quietly popu- order on the chaotic White House, status thats beyond Sessions.
early on to keep a low profile so as Attorney General Sessions, the lated the administration with al- an increasingly isolated Trump has Lately, however, Kelly has sought
not to make enemies in the cut- former Alabama senator, has also lies from his time on Capitol Hill, turned to the few people he trusts in to curb Millers access to Trump.
throat West Wing. He rarely grants sometimes put him in an awkward according to sources close to him, the West Wing. Miller, seen as one White House aides have sometimes
interviews and prefers to stay out position. including Jeff Freeland, a former of the last remaining conservatives blamed Miller, a fanatical Breitbart
of the headlines, according to aides Advisers outside the W hite deputy chief of staff to Rep. Chris in the White House, built a close News reader, for passing along bad
and people close to him. He has told House urged Dearborn to try and Collins (R-N.Y.) who is now at the relationship with Trump during the information to the president, and
associates that he sees his longevity help make peace between Sessions Office of Management and Budget; campaign and is often a sounding he can no longer put printed-out
at the White House as connected and Trump, but he didnt get in- and G. Payne Griffin, a former Ses- board for the president. Breitbart articles on Trumps desk.
to staying out of the news media. volved in directly mediating the sions staffer now the deputy chief of Millers influence with the presi- Miller was also partially respon-
That ensured that he would never disputes between the two, even staff at the Office of the U.S. Trade dent has rarely been stronger than sible for drafting the White Houses
outshine the president, a big no-no as he was rattled by the presi- Representative. in the past few weeks, when, ac- first unsuccessful immigration and
in this White House, but it also ren- dents public attacks on Sessions I would not knock Ricks power cording to two administration of- travel ban, which was halted by the
ders him invisible to the president, through the media and on Twitter, base because he is not in the clips ficials, he joined with Sessions, his court system and is now seen as the
who loves to see aides including according to people familiar with or the ebbs and flows of news ar- former boss, to persuade Trump to first major policy gaffe of the fledg-
Miller defending his policies on the talks. ticles, said one source close to end the Obama-era Deferred Action ling administration. But Miller is
TV. Thats increasingly turned Instead, he subtly tried to help Dearborn. He is able to maintain for Childhood Arrivals program, nonetheless seen as untouchable in
Dearborn into a bit player in the Sessions by making sure the presi- relationships on the Hill, and that is which protects undocumented im- the West Wing, thanks to his per-
White House, leaving some ad- dent was aware of everything that harder for the flashier characters to migrants who entered the country formances defending the president
ministration officials to wonder Sessions was doing at the Depart- develop those relationships. as minors. and the personal ties he has culti-
how long hell stick around. ment of Justice to advance Trumps Dearborn has a cordial, but not Miller and Sessions mounted a vated with Trump.
Dearborn has faced a series of agenda. particularly close, relationship with fierce behind-the-scenes campaign W hile Miller and Dearborn
setbacks since joining the White He worked to make sure good Kelly, according to White House to persuade Trump to end DACA, worked side by side on the Hill,
House. news was getting to the president, aides. Kellys decision to name as arguing repeatedly that the admin- White House aides say theyve
Early on, he gunned for the leg- said a former Senate staffer who principal deputy chief of staff his istration couldnt defend the policy rarely gotten in each others way
islative affairs director job, accord- knows Dearborn. If the AG was former top aide at the Department in court and that maintaining the in the White House.
ing to two people familiar with the working hard to crack down on of Homeland Security, Kirstjen program would break his campaign They are not in competition
issue. But that went to Marc Short MS-13, Dearborn wanted to make Nielsen, was seen as a setback for promises. Trump, who had wavered for power, said one White House
instead, in a blow to Dearborn, after sure that the president was hearing Dearborn. for months over DACA, ultimately official, but instead have carved
Vice President Mike Pence pulled that. He kept saying Were making While Dearborn and Kelly are sided with Sessions and Miller and out drastically different lanes for
rank and indicated that he wanted sure he is seeing the good news. not close, Dearborn has been given moved to kill the program, but he that power.
one of his people in that spot. Short Since joining the White House, increased power over the office of gave Congress six months to come
technically reports to Dearborn, Dearborn has acted as a key link be- public liaison and part of the White up with a legislative solution. Tara Palmeri contributed to this
but the sources said that in practice tween federal agencies and the West House political operation and is ex- Sessions relationship with report.
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How California could jolt the 2020 presidential race
Primary could upend
nomination process
BY DAVID SIDERS
AND GABRIEL DEBENEDETTI
LOS ANGELES California is pushing
forward with a plan to change the
states primary date from June to
March, a move that could scramble
the 2020 presidential nominating
contest and swing the early weight
of the campaign to the West.
If adopted by the Legislature
this week as is widely expected
and signed into law by Gov. Jerry
Brown, the early primary would al-
locate Californias massive haul of
delegates just after the nations first
contests in Iowa, New Hampshire,
Nevada and South Carolina.
The earlier primary could benefit
at least two potential presidential
contenders from California U.S.
Sen. Kamala Harris and Los An-
geles Mayor Eric Garcetti and
jeopardize the prospects of other
candidates who will struggle to
raise enough early money to com-
pete in expensive media markets in
the nations most populous state.
In all probability, the winner of
the California primary would be the
nominee, said Don Fowler, a for-
mer Democratic National Commit-
tee chairman from South Carolina.
While acknowledging that a lot
of this rationale this far in advance
just is completely wrong, Fowler
said: The implications for the flow
of the winnowing process [of can-
didates] is very significant in mov-
ing California.
California for years has sought
to exert greater influence in presi-
dential elections. Despite its size,
the state has been a relative after-
thought in national campaigns,
marginalized not only because of
its late primary, but also because of
the high cost of campaigning here.
In 2008, the state tried to change
that by holding a February prima-
ry. But more than 20 other states
also moved up their contests in
response, and while California
drew a competitive race, the out-
come was not decisive Hillary
Clinton won the primary here but
lost the nomination.
They can change the dates all
they want weve tried this over
and over and over, and it has not
worked, said Tony Quinn, a po-
litical analyst and former Repub-
lican legislative aide in California.
I think what youre dealing with
are politicians who dont have any
memory.
The 2008 Democratic primary
in California was relatively muted
in part because of Clintons deep
fundraising and political ties here
and a relatively small field of can-
didates. But the 2020 Democratic
field is shaping up to be many times
larger.
Karen Skelton, a Sacramento-
based political strategist who
worked in Bill Clintons White
House, said that after the 2008
experience, Itd be interesting to
see what California would do with
a wide-open primary field where
there was no clear front-runner.
By hosting an earlier primary,
California could immediately
gain significant clout in the par-
tys nominating process, since
the states proportionate delegate
haul could prove decisive in a 2020
field thats likely to be historically
Sen. Kamala Harris is one of the people who could benet by an earlier primary in California. The California
Democrats name has been oated as a potential contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
crowded. Bob Mulholland, a longtime
Politically powerful Californians Democratic strategist in Califor-
such as Brown, Sen. Dianne Fein- nia, has warned against moving
stein or former Sen. Barbara Boxer up the primary. He said a decisive
stand to become informal king- vote in California could depress
makers if they choose to wade into primary turnout in later-voting
the primary. And an earlier primary states, damaging Democrats turn-
would also increase the likelihood out operations in other states that,
that national figures interested in while smaller, are more critical to
2020 could weigh in on the 2018 Democrats in the general election
governors race in an attempt to than solidly blue California.
build name recognition, get donor It has a big potential to shut the
face time and collect political allies primary system down and to ba-
ahead of their presidential runs. sically eliminate primaries in any
Already a top fundraising des- state in May or June, he said.
tination for presidential hopefuls But the legislation awaiting a
of both parties, California might vote in Sacramento has faced little
become an even more significant opposition and, with passage nearly
fundraising center for campaigns certain, no lobbying from Harris or
that can convince donors their Garcetti. Democratic consultants in
money will be spent in-state. Cali- California said an earlier primary
fornia would also likely see far more could benefit those candidates but
public appearances from potential noted that they would still have
candidates who could easily tack to perform well in the first four
on speeches and rallies to their contests.
behind-closed-doors West Coast Theyd still have to run the
fundraising swings. gamut, Skelton said. A scenario
In the past, New York and Cali- where a Garcetti or Harris came out
fornia, for Democratic candidates, of Iowa, New Hampshire and South
were just states where you raise Carolina kind of weak, its not go-
In all probability, the winner of the California primary
would be the nominee.
Don Fowler Former DNC chairman from South Carolina.
money, explained former New ing to be convincing that they could
Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who take California. They still have a
ran for president in 2008. Both, lot to prove.
because of their lateness in the Garcetti, who traveled to New
primary, were not significant, so Hampshire last month to campaign
it changes California to becoming for a Democrat running for mayor
a major, major state for the party, of Manchester, told POLITICO re-
which is healthy because it just, cently that in primary scheduling,
in the past, has been a dumping Im more concerned about whats
ground for fundraising. Yet its a best for all Americans, not just
state thats a trend-setter. whats best for our state.
CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES
Ive gone to Iowa. Its amazing
to see in a small setting people ac-
tually get the chance to touch and
feel and vet candidates, he said.
But we want to make sure thats
done in diverse states and big states
like California that, you know, like
in the Senate, our vote isnt watered
down.
Its not just Harris and Garcetti
who could stand to benefit from an
earlier primary in their home state.
San Francisco billionaire environ-
mentalist Tom Steyer has refused
to rule out a run of his own after
increasing his name recognition in
California with television ads last
year, and both Sens. Bernie Sanders
of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren
of Massachusetts are also popular
among Californians.
While the Democratic Party
opens its California primary to in-
dependent voters, the Republican
Party does not. And despite wide-
spread disdain for Donald Trump in
this heavily Democratic state, the
GOP is no more likely in California
than elsewhere to abandon the Re-
publican president.
Republican Party turnout still
looks in general like Republican
turnout in other states, said Rob
Stutzman, a Republican consultant
who worked on anti-Trump efforts
in California in 2016.
Stutzman, who said there is a
good chance he will work for a
Republican challenger to Trump
in 2020, said the expense of cam-
paigning in California could very
well be to Trumps advantage.
An earlier California primary
might irk political honchos in the
first four voting states Iowa, New
Hampshire, Nevada and South
Carolina but it would also put a
new premium on specific kinds of
candidates who might not tend to
emerge from the early stages of the
process in other years.
First, candidates who are able
to raise more money early on will
likely welcome the change, since
California is a notoriously expen-
sive state in which to compete,
given its size and multiple televi-
sion markets.
Fowler said a retail candidate
cannot compete in California
its just physically and financially
impossible. And across the state
line from California in Nevada,
which could get more face time
from candidates on their swings
west, former Clark County Dem-
ocratic Party Chairman Chris
Miller said an earlier California
primary would hugely change the
complexion of the presidential
nominating contest.
Californias an expensive state
to play in, he said. Obviously,
because of several different high-
dollar media markets, and obvi-
ously, just the size of the state and
being able to campaign in it that
early in the race would definitely
hammer out anybody whos not or-
ganized or doesnt have the ability
to organize.
And as a more diverse state than
many of the other important ones
in the early primary process, Cali-
fornia could also elevate Hispanic
and African-American candidates
at a time when multiple minority
figures are considering presiden-
tial runs, including Harris, New
Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former
Housing Secretary Julin Castro,
and former Massachusetts Gov.
Deval Patrick.
Finally, noted Richardson, it
could give Westerners a larger piece
of the process.
Democrats have never nominated
someone from the West to lead their
presidential ticket, but a handful
of party members from that part
of the country might run in 2020,
including Govs. John Hickenlooper
of Colorado, Steve Bullock of Mon-
tana, Jay Inslee of Washington and
Jeff Merkley of Oregon, in addition
to the Californians.
Lawmakers in Washington state
have discussed holding an earlier
primary, and former Oregon Sec-
retary of State Jeanne Atkins said
a move by California could spur
a conversation in her state about
primary timing. But Atkins, chair-
woman of Oregons Democratic
Party, said the 2020 primary sched-
ule is generally not on peoples ra-
dar screens at the moment.
Across the country from Cali-
fornia, New Hampshire Secretary
of State Bill Gardner said he does
not have any beef with Califor-
nia setting a primary date in March.
But he warned it is impossible to
predict whether an earlier or later
primary will be advantageous in
2020.
Recalling Californias previous
massaging of the primary sched-
ule, he said, California has moved
up and moved back, and theyve
moved up, and Im not sure any
of them have turned out the way
people thought.

Is U.S. technology policy advancing Chinas power?
Beijing uses a range of
tools to overtake U.S.
BY DANIEL KLIMAN
AND HARRY KREJSA
S
ixty years ago this fall,
the Soviet Union shocked
the world by launching
into orbit Earths first artificial
satellite, Sputnik 1. The
beach ball-sized spacecraft
was an astounding scientific
achievement, one previously
thought beyond the reach of
Moscow. As Sputnik circled
the globe and emitted radio
signals detectable by anyone
with a short-wave receiver, the
American public experienced
a crisis of confidence over
their countrys standing in
the world and its Cold War
competitiveness.
We know the rest of the
story. American scientists and
policymakers were shaken out
of the complacent assumption
that their technological edge
was insurmountable. American
government, universities
and industry mobilized for
a competition of scientific
innovation and won.
In recent months, China
has quietly given the United
States a series of new Sputnik
Moments not as dramatic as a
radio beacon from overhead, but
just as significant as a challenge
to American technological
leadership. And as U.S. debates
have focused on trade deficits and
recovering manufacturing jobs,
Beijing has achieved the scientific
and technological feats that
herald its arrival as an innovation
superpower. These Sputnik
Moments extend across multiple
industries, from communications
technology to renewable energy.
Collectively, they pose a risk
to Americas future economic
dynamism, as well as its military
superiority.
This August, China
successfully tested the
worlds first quantum satellite
communication relying
on the physics of quantum
entanglement to send and receive
provably secure messages.
While the United States faces
a regulatory morass around
the world-shaking potential
of CRISPR gene-editing
technologies, China last year
announced seven human trials to
treat cancer and other ailments.
As coal finds itself again at
the center of the American
energy policy debate, Chinas
photovoltaic capacity has surged.
In just the first six months of
2017, China added new solar
energy generation capacity equal
to half of the United States entire
installed solar base at the end of
2016.
These largely overlooked
Sputnik Moments have thus
far failed to galvanize a U.S.
response.
In fact, they underscore
the need for action to sustain
Americas innovation edge.
Improving the quality of the
U.S. education system and
ensuring sufficient government
funding for long-term research
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at the 2017 BRICS Summit in Xiamen, China, on Sept. 5. China uses a variety
of tools to extract U.S. innovations without having to break any laws or rewalls, the authors write.
and development are essential,
but will succeed only if the
United States simultaneously
addresses Chinas sweeping and
ambitious effort to acquire U.S.
technology.
Unlike the Cold War, todays
cutting-edge technology
development in the U.S. occurs
largely in the commercial sector,
and often through cross-border
collaboration. This means that
technology breakthroughs in
the United States can benefit
economic competitors for
example, China has built on
CRISPR gene editing, which was
invented in the United States.
Indeed, Beijing has in recent
years benefited by acquiring
U.S. intellectual property to
leapfrog traditional research
and development costs and
timelines. Although the threat
of illegal Chinese cyber theft
is well known, China is also
employing a variety of tools
designed to extract U.S.
achievements in innovation
without having to break
any laws or firewalls. These
tools range from coercive
trade practices to structured
corporate finance. For example,
in exchange for access to
Chinas massive and fast-
growing market, Beijing has
required some U.S. companies
to trade away their intellectual
property or engage in forced
joint ventures with local
Chinese firms. These shotgun
corporate marriages can be
little more than involuntary
technology transfers imposed
on U.S. companies seeking new
sources of growth.
In the United States, China
has adopted less heavy-handed
tactics. Its companies are
attempting to acquire U.S. firms
OPINION
in key advanced technology
sectors like semiconductor
development and manufacturing.
Chinese corporations have also
opened research centers in the
United States to tap American
talent and made early-stage
investments in American
startups focused on cutting-
edge technologies like artificial
intelligence and robotics. A small
Silicon Valley venture might
find access to their intellectual
property a minor price to pay
for a game-changing capital
infusion.
Failing to address Chinas
efforts to acquire U.S.
technology will have far-
reaching consequences. The
Commission on the Theft of
American Intellectual Property
estimates that piracy, theft and
counterfeiting by China costs
the U.S. economy from $225
billion to $600 billion a year,
or up to 3 percent of the entire
U.S. gross domestic product.
In the long term, the costs
grow only more daunting. If
scientific advances in quantum
communications, artificial
intelligence, biotechnology,
energy and battery technology
increasingly move to China, so
will the future industries and
jobs that will accompany
them. Moreover, future U.S.
military advantage depends
on Americas continued
technological leadership. If
China outpaces the United
States in innovation, loss of
Americas military edge in the
Asia-Pacific, if not globally,
could follow.
Much has been made of U.S.
efforts to combat cyber-enabled
Chinese economic espionage,
including the 2015 agreement
concluded by the Obama
T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 | POLITICO | 21
MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Chinese companies, monitor
compliance with CFIUS
administration. But leaving
aside illegal cyber theft, China
can exploit many legal vehicles
to acquire U.S. technology. As
a result, the United States must
treat this problem differently
than traditional industrial
espionage.
This starts with changing how
the U.S. government organizes
for economic competition.
As currently structured,
the Committee on Foreign
Investment in the United
States, a body set up to review
foreign investments for national
security consequences, is not
equipped for the task. CFIUS
lacks the resources for its current
caseload, and is overly focused
on individual transactions rather
than larger trends. Smaller
transactions like those early
investments in cutting-edge
startups fall below the radar.
In many ways, the U.S.
governments current
organization for economic
competition replicates many
of the failures that plagued
counterterrorism efforts prior
to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Expertise, authorities and
information are diffused across
the government. This precludes
a strategic approach, creates
dangerous bureaucratic seams,
and hinders swift action to
counter a fluid and evolving
challenge.
For these reasons, the
United States should consider
establishing a National
Economic Competition Center
modeled after the National
Counterterrorism Center.
Established in the years after
the 2001 attacks, the NCTC was
built on the premise that terror
threats require swift cooperation
across the U.S. government
and with a level of information
sharing that could not occur
absent a centralized, dedicated
effort. Like combating terrorism,
safeguarding technological
security requires cutting across
bureaucratic lines and will
depend on both domestically and
internationally oriented agencies.
Like the NCTC, an effective
National Economic Competition
Center would convene key
players from relevant agencies
such as the Departments
of Defense, Commerce and
Treasury, along with the U.S.
Trade Representative, the FBI,
and the rest of the intelligence
community. It would pool
information from across the
government and leverage big
data to track Chinese efforts to
acquire U.S. technology.
The National Economic
Competition Center would also
play a decisive role in CFIUS.
Possessing the best sight
picture on Chinas economic
activities, it would review CFIUS
recommendations involving
Chinese firms and wield a veto
over decisions by the current
membership. The NECC would
also recommend technologies
requiring additional scrutiny by
CFIUS, and in cases involving
mitigation agreements, which
commit parties in a transaction
to taking special actions to
address national security
concerns.
An NECC could also serve
as a repository for pooling
information from firms targeted
by Chinas efforts to acquire
their intellectual property. It
could function as a one-stop
resource for companies under
pressure by China to trade away
their intellectual property, and
recommend policy actions to give
U.S. companies the backing they
need. In addition, the director
of the NECC would regularly
meet with technology industry
CEOs and Silicon Valley venture
capitalists to ensure the U.S.
government strikes the right
balance between protecting
Americas technology edge and
maintaining the level of openness
required for the U.S. innovation
ecosystem to thrive.
Recalling that U.S.-Soviet
technological rivalry contributed
to the modern age through space
exploration, materials science
and advanced computing, the
United States should boldly
embrace economic competition
with China. Now is the time to
organize to win.
The alternative is to continue
on the present course one in
which China leverages Americas
technology to ultimately become
the world leader in innovation.
Daniel Kliman is senior fellow
for Asia-Pacific Security at
the Center for a New American
Security in Washington, D.C.,
and until July 2017 served in the
Department of Defense. Harry
Krejsa is the Bacevich Fellow at
CNAS, and previously served on
the Congressional Joint Economic
Committee staff.
22 | POLITICO | T U E S D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 7

MATT WUERKER

CARTOON CAROUSEL

MICHAEL RAMIREZ CREATORS DAVID HORSEY LOS ANGELES TIMES AND TRIBUNE MEDIA
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freedom in the 21st century.
W.T. Williams, Project Engineer
Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss. Learn more about W.T. at HuntingtonIngalls.com/WTWilliams

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