Today in strange bedfellows: The ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus share enthusiasm for the same bill — an infrastructure package with bipartisan and pan-ideological enthusiasm.
What's more, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is onboard. The Intercept's Ryan Grim summed up these unusual political dynamics in a tweet: "Here's Breitbart writing about Kevin McCarthy endorsing the use of a CBC-backed bill to make an infrastructure deal happen. Worlds are colliding."
A political organization run by David Bossie, President Trump's former deputy campaign manager, has raised millions of dollars by saying it's supporting Trump-aligned conservative candidates — but has spent only a tiny fraction of that money supporting candidates.
Instead, federal records suggest the Presidential Coalitionhas spent nearly all its money — raised mostly from small-dollar donations — on more fundraising, as well as administrative costs, which include Bossie's salary, according to a new report produced by the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) in collaboration with Axios.
About two-thirds of the contributions made to David Bossie's Presidential Coalition in 2017 and 2018 came from donors giving less than $200 in a single year. And of the donors identified in its tax forms, most said they were retired.
Data: Presidential Coalition's forms 8872 from the IRS; Chart: Harry Stevens/Axios
Facebook's political ad archive shows that most of the organization's ads "are overwhelmingly targeted to, and viewed by, Facebook users 65 and older," according to CLC’s report.
Age: 88 ... Gravel would be 90 years old — if elected — when he takes office.
Born: Springfield, Massachusetts
Undergraduate: Columbia University
Date candidacy announced: April 8
Previous roles: Alaska representative and Alaska Speaker of the House, U.S. Senator
Gravel's stance on key issues
Foreign policy: In "A Political Odyssey," Gravel shared his non-interventionist opinion on foreign policy. He doesn't believe sanctions work, specifically in Iran. Gravel also supports cutting military spending by 50%. He wants to end support for Saudi Arabia and foreign arm sales and opposes the Israeli treatment of Palestinians.
Big businesses: Gravel wants big businesses to be broken up, and leaders of corporations to be held directly responsible for the actions of their organizations.
Health care: Gravel calls health care is a human right, and thinks the U.S. should develop a universal health-care plan.
Climate change: Gravel supports the Green New Deal, and has a progressive climate platform that includes eliminating all single-use plastic products.
Immigration: Gravel labels the Trump administration's immigration policy as "monstrous." He supports open borders for non-criminals and abolishing ICE.
Notoriety: Gravel's campaign is, by and large, not being taken seriously. In part, that is because he said his intention for running was to make it onto the debate stage, rather than win the nomination. However, Gravel seems to be taking his own candidacy more seriously as time passes.
Age: Gravel is the oldest person seeking the presidency, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who is 77, and Joe Biden, who is 76.
The Democratic presidential candidates all have something unique that captures their identity. It could be a signature proposal or issue, or a broad theme they'll run on — or it could be their personality if they don't have a substantive idea that stands out.
Here's the one big thing for each candidate — what you should know if you know nothing else about them.
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders told ABC News’ "'This Week" Saturday President Trump's "sitting down" with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un was the right thing to do.
What he's saying: "This is one area, actually, where I do not fault Trump," Sanders said. "... They are isolated. They're demagogic, and we have just got to do everything we can to have China and the people in the Pacific Rim put as much pressure on North Korea and make it clear that they cannot continue to act this way."
Beto O'Rourke told supporters at a Fort Worth rally on Friday that he would put former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in charge of voting rights initiatives if he were elected president, CBS reports.
Driving the news: Abrams, a rising star in the Democratic Party, has fielded offers from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and former Vice PresidentJoe Biden for respective Senate and 2020 White House runs. O'Rourke reportedly said at the rally he spoke with Abrams on the phone "to thank her for all the work that she's doing on voting rights."
Former Vice President Joe Biden, who exceeded the highest amount raised by any Democratic 2020 candidate in the first 24 hours, plans to allow limited media access at his fundraising events, Politico reports.
Why it matters: Closed-door comments at fundraising events have haunted presidential candidates in the past, like Hillary Clinton's 2016 "basket of deplorables" moment. Some veteran fundraisers have called Biden’s move unusual, according to Politico, but it marks a strategy focused on the optics of transparency.
Beto O'Rourke showed support via Twitter on Friday for South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg, in response to anti-LGBTQ protesters demonstrating at the latter candidate's event in Dallas.
Why it matters: Buttigieg would be the first openly gay U.S. president if elected. So far, anti-LGBTQ statements have been made by hecklers at 2 Iowa campaign events, in addition to his Friday address at the Dallas County Democratic Dinner, per CNN.
Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi announced on Saturday he will not seek a fifth term, declining to run for reelection in 2020, Politico reports.
Details: Enzi, a 75-year-old Republican, who was first elected to his seat in 1996, chairs the Senate Budget Committee. He will retire at the end of this term. Per Politico, the seat is expected to stay in Republican hands. The Washington Post reports he will spend the remainder of his term concentrating on budget reform.
Trump retweeted far-right internet personality Paul Joseph Watson on Saturday, who was banned from Instagram and Facebook this week for spreading "dangerous" extremist rhetoric and violating hate speech policies.
Why it matters: Real-world hate crimes are putting pressure on Facebook and other platforms to crack down on pages and accounts that have repeatedly shared false information or hate speech. The president is expressing support for one of these extremist internet personalities through retweets.
