Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 121st day of the year. There are 244 days remaining in 2017. Today is the 102nd day of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Utahns oppose Trump’s rollback of environmental protections. UVU’s Matt Holland is the surprising frontrunner to replace Chaffetz. Congress reaches a deal to fund the government through the summer.
The clock:
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19 days until the Utah Republican State Convention (5/20/2017)
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47 days until the Utah Democratic State Convention at Weber State University (6/17/2017)
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190 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)
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266 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
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311 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
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554 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
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1,282 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
Today’s political TL; DR –
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NEW POLL: Most Utahns oppose the Trump administration’s rollback of environmental protections [Utah Policy].
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A poll of likely Republican primary voters in the 3rd Congressional District finds Utah Valley University President Matt Holland is the most popular potential replacement for Rep. Jason Chaffetz [Utah Policy].
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Our “Political Insiders” weigh in on whether the Trump administration will either undo or reduce the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments [Utah Policy].
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Congressional Republicans reach a deal to fund the federal government through September [Politico].
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Dr. Vivian Lee steps down as the CEO of the University of Utah Health following her unsuccessful attempt to fire Dr. Mary Beckerle [Deseret News, Tribune]. A. Lorris Betz will step into the role while the University searches for Lee’s permanent replacement [Deseret News, Tribune].
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The fight over repealing Obamacare is heating up again. President Trump wants Congressional Republicans to push for a vote on undoing the Affordable Care Act [Wall Street Journal]. The House could vote on health care repeal legislation on Wednesday of this week [Axios].
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Does President Trump know what’s in the proposal to repeal Obamacare? CBS’ John Dickerson grilled him on the subject and Trump seemed to not understand the legislation [Vox].
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Trump vows that pre-existing conditions would be covered under the proposed Republican overhaul of the Affordable Care Act [Politico].
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President Donald Trump seemingly leaves the door open for military action against North Korea, while his national security adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster is pushing for a nonmilitary resolution [Wall Street Journal].
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Sen. John McCain says the U.S. needs to consider a preemptive strike on North Korea if that country is close to being able to mount a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile [Politico].
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Rep. Rob Bishop says he probably won’t run for U.S. Senate if Sen. Orrin Hatch decides not to run for an 8th term in 2018 [Roll Call].
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Utah won’t be able to withhold funds to Planned Parenthood under a court agreement, but the state is not required to renew contracts with the organization [Deseret News, Tribune].
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Political donations to Attorney General Sean Reyes have been pouring in ever since he was named as a possible nominee to head the Federal Trade Administration under President Donald Trump [New York Times].
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Utah County Republicans choose new leadership [Daily Herald].
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Salt Lake County proposes shipping jail inmates to other counties to help alleviate overcrowding [Tribune].
On this day in history
- 1941 – The Orson Welles film “Citizen Kane” premiered in New York.
- 1960 – The Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 reconnaissance plane near Sverdlovsk and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers.
- 1992 – On the third day of the Los Angeles riots, Rodney King appeared in public to appeal for calm, asking “Can we all get along?”
- 2003 – President George W. Bush landed in a jet on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off the California coast and, in a speech to the nation, declared major combat in Iraq over.
