| | | | Trump's GIANT hint about when he'll fire Sessions | | In an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, President Donald Trump -- as he so often does -- made some news: He won't be firing much-maligned Attorney General Jeff Sessions before the 2018 midterms.
"I just would love to have him do a great job," Trump told Bloomberg, before pointedly noting that he made no promises about Sessions' fate post- November 6, 2018. Which means -- in Trump speak -- that Sessions will be fired on or about November 7.
Trump likely thinks that by announcing he won't fire Sessions before the midterm elections, he has acceded to the wishes of the bulk of Senate Republicans who a) like Sessions personally (he spent two decades in the Senate prior to serving as AG) and b) don't want to worry about the complications to the likely confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court that an opening for the Attorney General spot would cause.
Remember that less than 48 hours ago Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered Sessions an unquestioning endorsement in the wake of the latest bit of Trump criticism; "I have total confidence in the attorney general," said McConnell. "I think he ought to stay exactly where he is."
See, Mitch, you said you wanted him to stay where he was -- and he will (until very soon after the election), you can imagine Trump saying to himself, and maybe even out loud.
And, I suppose, McConnell will be satisfied -- sort of. By postponing the Sessions firing until after the election, it clears the runway for the likely Kavanaugh confirmation.
But make no mistake: Trump isn't doing Sessions any favors here. He is turning Sessions into a lame-duck -- a lamer duck than Sessions already was given the fact that Trump has spent most of the last year savaging his AG publicly. And that's a very, very very lame duck.
The Point: Circle November 7 on your calendar. And don't be surprised if Sessions is gone on that day.
-- Chris | | "My name is Joe Biden. I'm a Democrat. And I love John McCain."
--Former Vice President Joe Biden, opening his eulogy for Sen. John McCain on Thursday. | | | A TRIBUTE TO MCCCAIN IN ARIZONA | | A memorial service was held Thursday at North Phoenix Baptist Church in Arizona for the late Sen. John McCain. The event is just one of several ceremonies that will be held to honor McCain over the next few days. - Former Vice President Joe Biden delivered an emotional speech: "I always thought of John as a brother," Biden said. Reflecting on McCain's legacy, he said, "John is going to take his rightful place in a long line of extraordinary leaders in this nation's history."
- Chris writes that the eulogy explained what's wrong with American politics today: "McCain believed in the idea of public service as a noble -- flawed, but nonetheless noble -- profession. That the reason you got into politics was to find ways to do good, not for yourself but for the broader populace. That the most important lesson to always, always, always remember is that we all have a lot more in common than we have differences on. That focusing on that common humanity was at the essence of how politics should work."
- Tomorrow, McCain will lie in state in Washington in the US Capitol, with a formal ceremony scheduled to take place in the Capitol Rotunda.
- "Roberta McCain, John McCain's 106-year-old mother, is expected to attend the services for her son at the Capitol, the National Cathedral and the Naval Academy, according to McCain aides," CNN's Dana Bash, Maeve Reston and Veronica Stracqualursi report. "She is expected to attend the formal ceremony at the US Capitol honoring her son's life and service to the nation on Friday morning."
| | | Better late than never! Wednesday would have been the King of Pop's 60th birthday. To honor Michael, watch his incredible Super Bowl halftime performance from 1993. | | | Today's topic: President Trump making fun of Jeff Sessions for his Southern accent is not a good idea. | | President Donald Trump tweeted on Thursday morning that he is "very excited about the person who will be taking the place of Don McGahn as White House Counsel!"
So who will it be? CNN's Jeremy Diamond and Ariane de Vogue report that "A top contender for the position has emerged: Emmet Flood, the lawyer handling the White House's response to the special counsel's investigation." But a senior White House official emphasized to CNN that "nothing is final."
Meanwhile, the President can't seem to keep his story straight about McGahn's departure.
Chris points out that on Wednesday Trump made it sound like McGahn leaving in the fall "was a mutually agreed-upon decision."
But compare that with another one of Trump's tweets on Thursday in which the President referred to "my decision on Don McGahn!"
Chris' take: "That certainly sounds like McGahn was either a) fired or b) told to find a new gig. Both of which are very different than Trump and McGahn agreeing that post-Kavanaugh confirmation was the right time for him to execute his long-planned departure from the White House." | | TRUMP NIXES PAY RAISES FOR FEDERAL WORKERS | | President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he is moving to cancel pay raises for federal employees.
CNN's Kevin Liptak has the story: The President informed lawmakers that "he wants to scrap a pay raise for civilian federal workers, saying the nation's budget couldn't support it. In a letter to House and Senate leaders, Trump described the pay increase as 'inappropriate.'"
A pay raise cancellation wouldn't just affect workers in Washington. As Kevin notes, "The state with the largest number of federal workers is California, followed by Virginia, the District of Columbia and Texas. States Trump won in 2016 -- including Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio -- also rank high on the list of states where federal employees work." | | 23 YEARS OF CNN DOT COM 🎂 🎉 🎈 | | | CNN Money's Oliver Darcy points out on Twitter that today is CNN.com's birthday. "Happy birthday to CNN dot com! The network launched the website on August 30, 1995. Here's what the homepage looked like back then," Darcy wrote in a tweet that included the image above. | | | From Brenna: "That's Vice President Pence saying that we don't have to go to work tomorrow, and Labor Day weekend is four days this year! Just kidding -- I wish. But you can share The Point with your fellow workers and make the end of this long slog toward a holiday a little more fun!" | | | | | | |
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