House Minority Whip Steve Scalise’s PAC is inviting lobbyists to attend a four-day “Summer Meeting” at Disney World's Polynesian Village in Florida, all but daring donors to swallow their concern about coronavirus and contribute $10,000 to his leadership PAC.
Why it matters: Scalise appears to be the first House lawmakers to host an in-person destination fundraiser since the severity of pandemic became clear. The invite for the “Summer Meeting” for the Scalise Leadership Fund, obtained by Axios, makes no mention of COVID-19.
The Trump administration informed the United Nations and Congress on Tuesday that the U.S. is officially beginning the process of withdrawing from the World Health Organization. The UN is now "in the process of verifying with the WHO whether all the conditions for such withdrawal are met," according to a spokesperson.
Why it matters: President Trump's decision to formally withdraw from the UN's global health agency — which will take effect on July 6, 2021 — comes as the pandemic continues to accelerate both in the U.S. and around the world. The U.S. is by far the largest donor to the WHO out of any country, contributing more than 14% of its total budget.
Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) urged the WNBA to reconsider its decision to allow players to wear warmup jerseys reading "Black Lives Matter" and "Say Her Name," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
What she's saying: The Georgia senator, a co-owner of Atlanta's WNBA franchise, told Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a letter that the move "undermines the potential of the sport and sends a message of exclusion."
In her new memoir, President Trump's niece reveals how she leaked hordes of confidential Trump family financial documents to the New York Times in an effort to expose her uncle, whom she portrays as a dangerous sociopath.
Why it matters: Trump was furious when he found out recently that Mary Trump, a trained psychologist, would be publishing a tell-all memoir. And Trump's younger brother, Robert, tried and failed to block the publication of "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man."
Democrats have reported massive fundraising numbers from the second quarter of 2020 to unseat senators from states with competitive races including South Carolina and Maine.
Why it matters: Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate, but maintaining their majority this November could prove challenging.
Joe Biden's campaign released a three-part plan Tuesday to rebuild U.S. supply chains in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and it's centered around the idea that the country is more vulnerable to global disruptions in spite of President Trump's "America First" rhetoric.
Why it matters: Biden is proposing a way to make sure the U.S. doesn't rely on other countries for personal protective equipment (PPE) and other related medical supplies. That's another way of acknowledging that we're not getting over this health crisis anytime soon.
A number of publications have received advanced copies of "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man" — a tell-all book by Mary Trump that paints her uncle, President Trump, as a power-hungry sociopath.
Why it matters: Mary Trump, a trained psychologist, details her uncle's upbringing and what she sees as formative moments in his personality. Donald Trump's younger brother, Robert, has tried and failed to block the publication from hitting store shelves, citing a non-disclosure agreement Mary Trump signed 20 years ago.
There has been a big uptick in traffic to conservative social media networks like Parler, thedonald.win and Gab over the past few months, according to data from SimilarWeb.
Why it matters: Conservatives are looking to build their own social media platforms, where they can escape from what they feel is baseless censorship of their viewpoints from mainstream social media networks.
The U.S. Treasury Department Monday morning released the names of over 660,000 small businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program loans of at least $150,000, per its recent compromise with Congress. Well, at least that's what we thought Treasury did.
What happened: Within hours, several well-known companies and investment firms on the list denied that they had ever applied for PPP loans, let alone received them.
The nonprofit group Carbon180, which advocates for deployment of emerging carbon removal technologies and methods, has brought on The Coefficient Group to lobby, a new filing shows.
Why it matters: Technologies like direct air capture and bioenergy with carbon capture are getting increased attention from policymakers, and the filing signals that the group sees an opening.
Two new court actions — one by the Supreme Court and another by a federal judge — together highlight and raise the energy stakes of November's election.
Why it matters: The legal actions mean the results of the 2020 election could very well decide the fate of Keystone XL and Dakota Access, two projects at the heart of battles over fossil fuel infrastructure.
A recent CNBC article suggests financial literacy is the "critical link" that could "help bridge America’s racial wealth gap."
Reality check: Increased financial knowledge is likely to help improve the lives of individuals, however even widespread increases in financial literacy would do little to close the racial wealth gap.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Monday that the Trump administration is "looking at" a ban on Chinese social media app TikTok.
Betting markets have turned decisively toward an expected victory for Joe Biden in November — and asset managers at major investment banks are preparing for not only a Biden win, but potentially a Democratic sweep of the Senate and House too.
Why it matters: Wall Street had its chips on a Trump win until recently — even in the midst of the coronavirus-induced recession and Biden's rise in the polls.
The Supreme Court 0n Monday rejected a request by the Trump administration to allow TC Energy to build parts of the Keystone XL pipeline in Montana while the appeals process moves forward on a federal court order that blocked construction, the New York Times reports.
Yes, but: The court's decision on Monday also "temporarily revived a permit program that would let other oil and gas pipelines cross waterways after only modest scrutiny from regulators," per the Times.
