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Morning must reads for Thursday, February 9, 2017

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Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 40th day of the year. There are 325 days remaining in 2017.

The so-called “permitless carry” bill may not be on solid legislative ground this year. Greg Hughes fires back over funding for homeless programs. Chaffetz meets with Utah Muslim leaders.

The clock:

  • 19 days until President Trump is scheduled to addresses a joint session of Congress (2/28/2017)
  • 28 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (3/9/2017)
  • 271 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)
  • 636 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
  • 1363 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Ten talking points for Thursday:

  1. It’s unclear whether backers of a bill allowing the carrying of concealed weapons without a permit have changed the measure enough to avoid a veto by Gov. Gary Herbert [Utah Policy].
  2. Speaker Greg Hughes is not happy with Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams call for more funding for homeless programs [Utah Policy].
  3. The Senate gives final legislative approval to a resolution calling for a reduction in the size of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune].
  4. Rep. Jason Chaffetz meets with Utah Muslims while voicing his support for President Donald Trump’s travel ban on people from seven predominantly Muslim nations [Deseret News, Tribune].
  5. If you’re planning on attending Thursday evening’s town hall meeting hosted by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, you better get there early. Organizers say it’s going to be packed [Tribune].
  6. The public corruption trial for former Attorney General John Swallow got underway on Wednesday. The courtroom proceedings are expected to last 16 days [Tribune, Deseret News].
  7. The legislative audit of the University of Utah’s athletic department cost taxpayers $203,000. Lawmakers sought the audit after the University canceled a previously scheduled basketball game against BYU [Deseret News].
  8. Lawmakers advance two bills to alleviate Election Day headaches [Tribune].
  9. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch said during a closed-door meeting that President Donald Trump‘s attacks on the judicial branch are “demoralizing and disheartening” [Wall Street Journal]. So far, none of the judges Trump has gone after on Twitter have responded, which is what you should expect from an independent judiciary [Associated Press].
  10. Following a long and often contentious debate, the Senate confirms Sen. Jeff Sessions as Attorney General [Washington Post].

On this day in history:

  • 1825 – After no presidential candidate won the necessary majority, the House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams the sixth president of the United States.
  • 1861 – The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America elected Jefferson Davis president and Alexander H. Stephens vice president.
  • 1950 – Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., charged the U.S. State Department was infested with communists, touching off the infamous “McCarthy era.”
  • 1964 – The Beatles appeared on television’s The Ed Sullivan Show. An estimated 73 million people watched.