Tipsheet: Hurd retirement leaves GOP gloomy on 2020

View in your browser     Hurd retirement leaves GOP gloomy on 2020 BY JULIEGRACE BRUFKE AND JULIA MANCHESTER Republicans are growing more pessimistic about their odds of taking back the House majority after the surprise news Thursday that Rep. Will Hurd (Texas), the only African American GOP lawmaker in the House, is retiring. Hurd is the sixth House Republican and the third from the critical state of Texas to announce their departures, dampening GOP hopes for 2020. Read the full story here     China tariffs pose risk for Trump in 2020 BY NIV ELIS AND SYLVAN LANE President Trump's latest threat to impose additional tariffs on China poses a risky downside as he heads into a contentious reelection campaign. The 10 percent tariff on $300 billion in Chinese imports is slated to go into effect Sept. 1, and it will cover an array of consumer goods such as clothing and electronics that were not previously subject to import taxes. Read the full story here     Trump casts uncertainty over top intelligence role BY MORGAN CHALFANT President Trump has created massive uncertainty about who will serve in his top intelligence post — even on an interim basis. On Friday, Trump abruptly dropped plans to tap Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) to replace outgoing Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Daniel Coats, and he has not yet announced who will be acting DNI after Coats leaves the administration later this month. Read the full story here     Five questions for Trump's new defense secretary on first major tour BY ELLEN MITCHELL Secretary of State Mark Esper will undertake his first major international trip as the newly sworn in Pentagon chief starting this weekend, making stop in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Mongolia and South Korea. Here are five questions ahead of the trip. Read the full story here       Biden holds two-to-one lead over Sanders in post-debate poll BY JONATHAN EASLEY   Former Vice President Joe Biden has a 2-to-1 lead nationally over the next closest Democratic presidential contender after the second round of debates, according to the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll. Read the full story here     Ocasio-Cortez chief of staff to leave her office BY JULIEGRACE BRUFKE  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-N.Y.) chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti is leaving the freshman's office after a series of controversies. Rumors of his exit had circulated around Capitol Hill in recent days, with multiple sources saying he was not expected to return to her office after the August recess. Read the full story here     Gabbard reaches donor threshold for September debate BY TAL AXELROD Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s (D-Hawaii) White House campaign announced Friday it had reached the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) donor threshold to appear at the primary debate in September. Read the full story here     Federal judge rules against Trump asylum policy BY JACQUELINE THOMSEN  A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled Friday against a Trump administration policy that would only allow migrants who enter the U.S. through legal ports of entry to claim asylum, the latest blow against the administration's agenda. Read the full story here     Trump says media is part of vetting his nominees: 'We save a lot of money that way' BY BRETT SAMUELS President Trump on Friday defended the vetting process at the White House, telling the news media that he allows it to do much of the heavy lifting while simultaneously blaming it for the withdrawal of his nominee to lead intelligence agencies. Read the full story here     Pelosi defends Trump oversight as Democrats' calls for impeachment grow BY MIKE LILLIS Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday defended her methodical approach to investigating President Trump as calls for his impeachment inched up toward the edge of majority support among the Democratic caucus.  Read the full story here     Hamza bin Laden's reported death is not the death of al Qaeda BY JASON M. BLAZAKIS Opinion | While the near-term future for al Qaeda remains bleak, its strategic patience and focus on the “far enemy” makes the group the most enduring transnational threat to U.S. national security interests.  Read the full story here     Too soon to know if Fed rate cut will help avoid recession BY EVAN KRAFT Opinion | Usually, a Fed rate cut would mean that the economy had taken a nosedive. The Fed often acts before a recession has been officially identified. But most often, the Fed only cuts rates when the economy is sending very clear distress signals, such as a significant rise in the unemployment rate. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Defying US sanctions, countries have taken oil from 12 Iranian tankers BY ANJALI SINGHVI, EDWARD WONG AND DENISE LUA China and other countries are receiving oil shipments from a larger number of Iranian tankers than had been previously known, defying sanctions imposed by the United States to choke off Tehran’s main source of income, an investigation by The New York Times has found. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: GOP senator held up Trump nominee, demanding to see border wall contracts after Army Corps panned construction firm he prefers BY NICK MIROFF AND DAMIAN PALETTA A Republican senator held up the confirmation of a White House budget official this week in an attempt to obtain sensitive information about border wall contracts he has been trying to steer to a major donor, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post. Read the full story here     NBC News: Trump wants to pull all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by 2020 election, officials say BY COURTNEY KUBE AND CAROL E. LEE President Donald Trump has told his advisers that he wants to pull all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by the November 2020 presidential election, according to five current and former administration and military officials. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Impeachment summer? August town halls may decide next steps BY LISA MASCARO, MIKE CATALINI, DENISE LAVOIE and DAVID EGGERT Neither Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) nor Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) nor Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) supports impeachment. But with half the House Democrats now in favor of beginning an inquiry, the pressure will only mount on the holdouts to reach a tipping point. And with lawmakers returning home to voters during the August recess, what happens next may prove pivotal. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: CBS, Viacom reach tentative deal on team to lead combined company BY BENJAMIN MULLIN AND CARA LOMBARDO CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. have reached a working agreement on the management team that will lead the combined company in the event of a merger, people familiar with the matter said, resolving a critical question that threatened to stand in the way of a deal. Read the full story here   Did a friend forward you this email? 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