The anger and sadness that greeted Mayor Pete Buttigieg back home yesterday — during a town hall to address a white police officer shooting a 54-year-old black man, Eric Jack Logan — was a nightmare scenario.
Why it matters: "It’s one of those crisis moments that pops up in a campaign that you can’t really anticipate," said Democratic strategist Doug Thornell. "He’s running in many ways by touting his executive experience, so this will put it to a big test. ... But what matters now is what does he do over the next few days, over the next week?"
Most of the immigrant children detained by the U.S. government at a Border Patrol facility in Clint, Texas, have been relocated after reports exposed dangerous and unsanitary living conditions, according to AP.
The big picture: Attorneys visiting the facility last week found children suffering from a lack of nutrition and proper sanitation. Many were forced to sleep on cold floors and go days without access to toothbrushes and showers, while others were found to be suffering from flu or lice outbreaks, according to a New Yorker interview with one of the lawyers.
Nearly 100 internal Trump transition vetting documents were leaked to "Axios on HBO," identifying a host of "red flags" about officials who went on to get Trump administration jobs and others who never had an administration materialize.
Former Vice President Joe Biden said that he wants Congress to grant citizenship to Dreamers in an op-ed published in the Miami Herald and its Spanish-language sibling El Nuevo Herald on Monday.
The big picture: Ahead of the first 2020 Democratic debates in Miami this week, Biden attacked President Trump's immigration stance, saying that the president's policies "assault the dignity of the Latin community." His op-ed did not include a comprehensive policy proposal on immigration, like those put forth by Sen. Kamala Harris and Beto O'Rourke.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told "Axios on HBO" that it’s highly likely Republicans will wind up as a third party nationally in 10 to 15 years because of their "xenophobia" and "hyper-masculinity."
Why it matters: Newsom runs America’s largest state, one in which non-whites are the majority. California has sued the Trump administration a record 50 times, making Newsom the de facto leader of the Democratic resistance.
This week’s Democratic presidential debates are poised to showcase just how far left the party has moved in the last several years — especially on energy and climate change.
Why it matters: The Democrats’ eventual nominee is likely to be the most progressive indecades. Proposed policies could cripple oil and natural gas, direct trillions of dollars to renewable energy and reassert U.S. leadership abroad on climate change. It’s an open question whether most Americans would support them.
Nearly 100 internal Trump transition vetting documents leaked to "Axios on HBO" identify a host of "red flags" about officials who went on to get some of the most powerful jobs in the U.S. government.
Why it matters: The massive trove, and the story behind it, sheds light on the slap-dash way President Trump filled his cabinet and administration, and foreshadowed future scandals that beset his government.
Most of the vetting files had a section called "red flags," where the vetting team noted concerns about potential top officials. Axios categorized them all — for the nearly 100 people whose vetting documents we received.
Trump started his presidency on the back foot when it came to personnel. Now, he has confirmed fewer senior administration officials at this stage of his presidency than any of the previous four presidents, according to analysis provided to Axios by the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service.
Note: Data exclude non-civilian and judiciary positions; Data: Partnership for Public Service; Chart: Chris Canipe/Axios
The documents are the product of a hasty, dysfunctional, thrown-together effort to put together a presidential administration. Chris Christie helmed a traditional transition effort during the campaign. Then, after Trump won, Steve Bannon fired him and tossed most of his work.
Why it matters: Trump's original Cabinet, by most counts, was a mess and many are now gone.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday that the conditions of immigrant detention centers in his state are the "worst" he's ever seen them, and he called on Congress to pass humanitarian aid to "take care of these children."
"We have to pass humanitarian aid to take care of these children. That is the nation we are. We have to take care of these kids. ... I've lived in that state, I've been down there throughout my 15 years in Congress and before that as a federal prosecutor. This is the worst I've ever seen it, and it has to be taken care of."
Why it matters: Immigrant detention facilities have drawn heightened scrutiny in the wake of recent reports that suggest the government is failing to provide adequate living conditions and sanitary products for immigrant children being detained.
According to the New Yorker, children in facilities have been suffering from flu and lice outbreaks, sleeping on concrete floors and left virtually uncared for by staff. Four toddlers were hospitalized after lawyers discovered them in medically dire states at a U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas.
A bipartisan push to resolve the situation has yet to materialize.
Former Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak announced on Sunday that he is running for president, becoming the 25th Democrat to join the race.
Catch up quick: The 67-year-old Sestak is a former 3-star admiral and and was the "highest ranking military officer ever elected to Congress" from 2007 to 2010. Sestak graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and has a Master's and a PhD from Harvard. He made two failed bids for Senate in 2010 and 2016, earning the Democratic nomination in his first run but falling short in his second.
In an interview on ABC's "This Week," 2020 candidate Sen. Cory Booker said former Vice President Joe Biden "showed a lack of understanding or insensitivity by invoking this idea that he was called 'son' by white segregationists," but added that the two had a "constructive conversation" in a phone call last week.
President Trump confirmed on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that Vice President Mike Pence will "100%" be on his ticket again in 2020.
Why it matters: In an interview with "Fox & Friends" last week, Trump made headlines by declining to directly endorse Pence as his successor in 2024, telling the hosts: "You can't put me in that position." Trump explained to NBC's Chuck Todd that he hesitated to answer because "it was a surprise question" and the election is "so far out."
Pollsters spent a lot of time figuring out why Donald Trump's win was such a surprise in 2016 — but the reality is that there isn't going to be a radical change in most election polling for 2020.
Why it matters: Everyone should be more cautious in 2020 about what the polls can tell us and what they can't. There will be some improvements in state polls, which is what really mattered in 2016. But polling experts warn that state surveys in general are still a weak spot, and other aspects of election polling are still a challenge.
