Tipsheet: Harris off to best start among Dems in race, say strategists, donors

View in your browser     Harris off to best start among Dems in race, say strategists, donors BY AMIE PARNES Kamala Harris is off to the fastest start among Democrats who have already entered the 2020 presidential race, say party strategists and donors closely following the contest’s early stages.  Harris (D-Calif.) has trailed former vice president Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in a few polls, including a Monmouth University survey released earlier this month. Read the full story here     Sanders expected to announce exploratory committee next week BY MAX GREENWOOD Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is expected to launch a 2020 presidential exploratory committee next week, according to two people familiar with the plans. Read the full story here     Bernie Sanders records announcement video ahead of possible 2020 bid BY MAX GREENWOOD   Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has reportedly recorded a presidential announcement video, signaling that the progressive firebrand is closing in on a second White House bid. Read the full story here     Heather Nauert withdraws her name from consideration for UN Ambassador job BY ARIS FOLLEY AND JOHN BOWDEN State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert withdrew her name from consideration for the nomination of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations on Saturday. Read the full story here       DNC punts on measure to reduce role of corporate PAC money BY MAX GREENWOOD The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has punted on a resolution that would have created a task force to reduce the role of corporate PACs in party fundraising. Read the full story here     DNC calls for new elections for Alabama party leadership BY MAX GREENWOOD The Democratic National Committee (DNC) moved on Saturday to require new elections for the chair and vice chair of the Alabama Democratic Party amid concerns about alleged procedural irregularities in how the officials were first elected. Read the full story here     Congress allows Violence Against Women Act to lapse BY JULIEGRACE BRUFKE The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which provides funding and grants for a variety of programs that tackle domestic abuse, lapsed at the end of Friday after Congress failed to pass an extension before leaving for its one-week recess. Read the full story here     How gun control activists learned from the NRA BY REID WILSON Democrats this week used the one-year anniversary of the deadly Parkland, Fla., high school shooting to advance legislation cracking down on access to firearms in states across the country. Read the full story here     High stakes as Trump, Dems open drug price talks BY PETER SULLIVAN Democrats and the Trump administration are beginning to hold talks on lowering drug prices as they look for a rare area of common ground. Read the full story here     Pence calls for European allies to dump Iran deal after Merkel defends accord BY TAL AXELROD Vice President Pence on Saturday called on European allies to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear pact with Iran after German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke out in defense of the accord. Read the full story here     National emergency declaration — a legal fight Trump is likely to win BY NOLAN RAPPAPORT Opinion | Previous presidents declared 27 national emergencies that were still in effect as of February 1, 2019. Trump declared three national emergencies, which brought that total up to 30. An additional 21 national emergency declarations are no longer in effect. Read the full story here     Make the special counsel report public for the sake of Americans BY PAUL ROSENZWEIG AND JILL WINE BANKS Opinion | The evidence mounts daily from the special counsel investigation into Russian interference and collusion during the 2016 election. So does the evidence of the efforts by President Trump to hide those ties and stymie the work of Robert Mueller. The confirmation of William Barr as attorney general strongly suggests that what the public will learn of the findings through the Justice Department may be limited. The news that Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort shared campaign polling data with his Russian connections and lied about it validates a sense of looming crisis. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: New White House, congressional spending fights on the horizon BY KATE DAVIDSON AND KRISTINA PETERSON Lawmakers must once again raise the federal borrowing limit by late summer or early fall, and reach a new budget deal by the end of September Read the full story here     The Washington Post: Trump seeks to turn his failure to build wall into campaign rallying cry BY TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, ROBERT COSTA AND JOSH DAWSEY President Trump and his political team plan to make his years-long quest for a border wall one of the primary thrusts of his reelection effort. Faced with the fact that he has yet to build an inch of the concrete or steel wall he promised, he and his campaign have begun relying on a rhetorical sleight of hand: speaking the wall into existence. Read the full story here     The New York Times: With Trump’s tough deterrents, many asylum seekers on the border are giving up BY JOSE A. DEL REAL, CAITLIN DICKERSON AND MIRIAM JORDAN TIJUANA, Mexico — Pushed beyond their limits by prolonged waits in dangerous and squalid conditions in parts of Northern Mexico, thousands of caravan members who had been waiting to seek asylum in the United States appear to have given up, Mexican officials said, dealing President Trump an apparent win after a humbling week for his immigration agenda. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Iran blasts US efforts to turn Europe against nuclear deal BY AP STAFF Iran’s foreign minister is blasting the United States’ “unhealthy fixation” with his country and condemning the Trump administration’s efforts to press European countries to pull out of the nuclear agreement with Tehran. Read the full story here     Reuters: In Iraq visit, US general eyes longer-term Islamic State threat BY PHIL STEWART The general overseeing U.S. forces in the Middle East flew into Iraq on Sunday for talks with U.S. and Iraqi officials expected to focus on ensuring that Islamic State cannot stage a resurgence after U.S. troops withdraw from neighboring Syria. Read the full story here   Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet     You might like         Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.