President Trump’s schedule (EST):
11:30 AM: Meets with the House Problem Solvers Caucus;
1:00 PM: Has lunch with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; and
2:15 PM: Signs S.24, the “Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019,”
requiring retroactive compensation for furloughed and other unpaid federal workers.
Russia sanctions resolution test vote fell 2 short of 60. At 4:47 PM yesterday, the Senate voted 57-42 in favor of the motion to proceed to S.J.Res.2, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) resolution to disapprove of President Trump’s attempt to lift sanctions on three Russian corporations, EN+, Rusal, and ESE, press release. That means breaking a filibuster and passing the resolution would require the support of two more Republicans and absent Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). That cloture vote is set for 12:30 PM today.
Government reopening and disaster relief bill to pass the House today. Late this afternoon, after considering 15 amendments, the House is expected to pass the Disaster Supplemental Appropriations Act, H.R.268, in hope that the Senate might take it up. It would reopen the government for three weeks and provide $12.1 b. of disaster relief. The Senate won’t take this up.
2020 Census: “Court Blocks Trump Administration From Asking About Citizenship.” Yesterday’s New York Times article led with:
WASHINGTON — A federal judge blocked the Commerce Department from adding a question on American citizenship to the 2020 census, handing a legal victory on Tuesday to critics who accused the Trump administration of trying to turn the census into a tool to advance Republican political fortunes.
