| | | | Does Nancy Pelosi have the votes? | | Consider this scenario: Democrats win the 23 seats they need to retake the House majority. The party gathers for a vote for its next speaker. And Nancy Pelosi can't secure a majority of the votes.
Before I go any further, let me make very clear that this isn't a likely scenario. The most likely scenario if Democrats win is that Pelosi, unchallenged by any serious contender, claims the speakership for a second time.
But neither is the scenario I lay out above absolutely impossible either. Pelosi had steadily lost support among her caucus -- admittedly in votes for minority leader, not speaker -- over the past few years, and already there are a number of potential members of Congress who have pledged not to support her. (After the 2016 election, Pelosi beat Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan 134-63 -- a solid win but also the high watermark in terms of public opposition to her among House Democrats).
As Politico's Elena Schneider and Heather Caygle detailed in a terrific story earlier this month, there are nearly two dozen credible Democratic challengers who have already said they would not, if elected, vote for Pelosi as Speaker. They are following the lead of Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb, who won a special election earlier this year in southwestern Pennsylvania by, at least in part, finding ways to distance himself from the national party.
And now Pelosi finds herself on the opposite side of the Congressional Black Caucus on the controversial comments that Rep. Maxine Waters, D-California, made regarding how to treat members of the Trump administration when encountered in public. Pelosi gently rebuked Waters via Twitter: "as we go forward, we must conduct elections in a way that achieves unity from sea to shining sea," she said. (Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was far more full-throated in his condemnation of Trump.)
CBC Chairman Cedric Richmond, D-Louisiana, argued in a series of tweets on Tuesday that Waters had nothing to apologize for. "In exercising her constitutional right to freedom of speech at a recent rally, Congresswoman Waters did not, as she has made clear, encourage violence, like President Trump has been doing since the election," Richmond said. "She, instead, encouraged Americans to exercise their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly by letting President Trump and members of his administration know that separating young immigrant children from their parents is not who we are as a country."
That's not a direct rebuke of Pelosi, obviously, but it does put Pelosi not in lockstep with the CBC. And to win the speakership -- assuming Democrats can win the House -- Pelosi needs a united CBC behind her.
The Point: A betting man or woman still puts their money on Pelosi. She has been a titan within the party for decades and, particularly in the last 10 years, she has been unchallenged in that role. But could someone emerge if Pelosi appears to be struggling to secure a majority? Always remember: Politics abhors a vacuum.
-- Chris | | "That's right. Those were built about two and a half years ago, but I'm told they're still good. There is nothing about a Hostess Twinkie that has ever seen the inside of a cow."
-- Mitt Romney, apologizing to a Utah crowd about the food he serves at his events: Hostess Twinkies. | | | THE LAST OF JUNE'S PRIMARY NIGHTS | | Voters are headed to the polls in seven states. CNN's Wade Payson-Denney outlined what you need to know about tonight. - Polls close at 7 p.m. EDT in South Carolina. Gov. Henry McMaster was forced into a surprise runoff against Marine veteran John Warren. President Donald Trump personally campaigned for McMaster in the Palmetto State on the eve of the election, demonstrating the race's importance for the White House.
- Polls close at 8 p.m. EDT in Maryland, Mississippi and Oklahoma. Republicans in Mississippi's 3rd District vote in a runoff for retiring Rep. Gregg Harper's seat. While Maryland has few competitive general election matchups, the Democratic gubernatorial primary has drawn national attention and endorsements from potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. Oklahoma's Republican primary for governor has 10 candidates, and will almost certainly go to an August 28 runoff, unless someone tops 50%.
- Polls close at 9 p.m. EDT in Colorado and New York. Colorado's independent voters can choose to participate in either the Democratic or Republican primaries and there are competitive fields on both sides of the gubernatorial contest. A number of New York City Democrats face liberal challengers, and the Staten Island-based 11th District features a compelling contest between Trump-endorsed incumbent Rep. Dan Donovan and former Rep. Michael Grimm.
- Polls close at 10 p.m. EDT in Utah. The main event in the Beehive State is the Republican Senate primary, where Mitt Romney is heavily favored to win the nomination and the general election in the fall.
- Read more here.
Chris and CNN's Harry Enten also discuss why you should keep a close eye on Oklahoma tonight. | | MEANWHILE, AT THE WHITE HOUSE | | President Trump awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor to a member of the greatest generation, then-1st Lt. Garlin Murl Conner, US Army, for conspicuous gallantry during World War II. Trump presented the medal to his widow, Pauline.
Also on Trump's radar Tuesday: US motorcycle-maker Harley-Davidson. In a series of tweets in the morning, Trump said Harley is using the European retaliatory tariffs as "an excuse" for moving manufacturing abroad. Trump, echoing a top union for Harley workers, claims the company planned to shift some operations to Thailand before the tariffs were announced. Harley acknowledged it has already been moving some production abroad, but it says moving more production overseas is its "only sustainable option" in the wake of the growing trade war.
Read more in CNN Money's explainer on what's really going on. | | | NPR picked the best 40 albums of 2018 so far. GREAT list. Pick one to jam out to during your musical interlude tonight. | | | Today's topic: President Trump's tweet in response to SCOTUS' travel ban ruling (more on that below). | | Former Vice President Joe Biden spoke with The Washington Post's Josh Rogin, who asked whether the "crisis in the democratic world" makes Biden want to run for president. "It makes me feel guilty about not wanting to," Biden said. "But it doesn't make me want to. I'm not looking to live in the White House, I've seen it up close." He then added: "But all kidding aside, I don't know what I'm going to do."
In other 2020 news... CNN's Caroline Kenny writes: Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock appeared on the Kaiser Health Network's "What the Health" podcast live from Aspen and were asked about 2020. "Every time someone asks the question it is a tremendous compliment and I take it very seriously," Hickenlooper said. "My wife and I have been talking about it for a couple of months and talking to old friends whose opinion we respect and trust." Hickenlooper added that a final decision was likely to come about sometime during the summer. | | | Photo courtesy: Saba Hamedy / CNN | | Tuesday was a big day for the Surpeme Court as it issued two rulings. In one, it sided with faith-based pregnancy centers in a free speech case. In the other, it sided with the Trump administration and upheld the travel ban. Saba was outside SCOTUS after the travel ban ruling was announced. Here's everything you need to know: - Saba wrote a long, detailed travel ban timeline of everything that led up to the ruling. BTW, it all started with a December 2015 news release from the Trump campaign, calling for a ban on all Muslims entering the United States.
- Polls suggest Americans have been split on Trump's travel ban for a while, per CNN's Grace Sparks.
- The travel ban ruling also overturned the infamous 1944 Supreme Court decision blessing the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. But some Japanese-American protesters on Tuesday turned up to support Muslim advocacy groups. "What happened to us should never happen again," David Inoue, the executive director for the Japanese American Citizens League, told Saba. (Full story here).
- Democrats are not happy with the SCOTUS ruling, CNN's Daniella Diaz and Manu Raju reported.
- Outside, about 300 people -- including a handful of Democratic lawmakers and Muslim advocacy groups -- protested.
- Meanwhile, President Trump called the travel ban ruling "a tremendous victory."
- Here are Chris' takeaways from the SCOTUS ruling.
- If you're coming to the United States, CNN also has an explainer on how the travel ban could affect you.
| | It wouldn't be summer without interns descending upon Washington, DC. But Tuesday was not a good day for one of them...
An intern for Sen. Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat, has been suspended for a week after shouting an expletive toward President Donald Trump last week from across the Capitol rotunda.
Read more in CNN's story here. And remember, interns, you live and you learn. | | | From Brenna: "Sen. Ron Johnson was scratching his head during a foreign relations hearing today, much like me when I realized it's only Tuesday. Help your friends survive a glacially-paced week by telling them to subscribe to The Point." | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba.
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