Nov 19, 2018 - Politics & Policy

Democrats to Trump: Halting Puerto Rico relief funds is "unacceptable"

President Donald Trump speaks with Gov. Ricardo Rossello of Puerto Rico. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Pool via Getty Images

Eight Democratic members of Congress, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Reps. Raúl Grijalva and Nydia Velázquez, have written a letter to President Trump saying that cutting off relief funds to Puerto Rico is "unacceptable" and would have a "catastrophic effect on the Island’s already fragile recovery."

Why it matters: Trump has told senior officials that he would like to retract some of the federal funds Congress has already set aside for Puerto Rico's disaster recovery, Axios' Jonathan Swan reported earlier this month. This is mainly due to Trump's belief that the funds are being used to pay back debt (there is no evidence of this). The members noted in their letter that they would work with Trump to "ensure this never occurs."

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Axios
Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 32,471,119 — Total deaths: 987,593 — Total recoveries: 22,374,557 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 7,032,524 — Total deaths: 203,657 — Total recoveries: 2,727,335 — Total tests: 99,483,712 — Map.
  3. States: "We’re not closing anything going forward": Florida fully lifts COVID restaurant restrictions — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam tests positive for coronavirus.
  4. Health: Young people accounted for 20% of cases this summer.
  5. Business: Coronavirus has made airports happier places —The expiration of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance looms.
  6. Education: Where bringing students back to school is most risky.
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Biden pushes unity message in new TV wave

A fresh Joe Biden ad, "New Start," signals an effort by his campaign to make unity a central theme, underscoring a new passage in his stump speech that says he won't be a president just for Democrats but for all Americans.

What he's saying: The ad — which began Friday night, and is a follow-up to "Fresh Start" — draws from a Biden speech earlier in the week in Manitowoc, Wisconsin:

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Trump prepares to announce Amy Coney Barrett as Supreme Court replacement

Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Photo: Matt Cashore/Notre Dame University via Reuters

President Trump is preparing to nominate federal appeals court Judge Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, a favorite of both the social conservative base and Republican elected officials, to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Republican sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: Barrett would push the already conservative court further and harder to the right, for decades to come, on the most important issues in American politics — from abortion to the limits of presidential power. If confirmed, she would give conservatives a 6-3 majority on the high court.

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