Democrats Flood Suburban Atlanta District with Cash, Make It the Most Expensive House Race Ever
On the grind in Georgia. A special run-off election Tuesday in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District will serve as a referendum on Trump and spark Democratic efforts to counter his agenda—and to win back the House, reports The Washington Post. Jon Ossoff, a 30-year-old former Capitol Hill staffer who has campaigned as a moderate in the wealthy suburbs north of Atlanta and raised more than $23 million. But despite Ossoff’s financial advantage—the showdown is the most expensive House race in history—polls show the clash with Republican Karen Handel too close to call. Tuesday’s vote will be the third special Congressional election since November. Republicans have won two. Democrats need to flip 24 Republican-held seats to take the House majority.
Council walkout. Six members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS have resigned, saying they can’t effectively advocate for people with HIV/AIDS on a council for a president “who simply does not care.” Scott Schoettes and five other members of the council announced their resignations Friday in a letter published in Newsweek. They said the Trump administration has no strategy to address HIV/AIDS, doesn’t seek input from experts to address HIV policy, and has pushed legislation that will harm people living with HIV. Trump took down the Office of National AIDS Policy website when he took office.
Kushner going. First Son-in-Law Jared Kushner plans to travel to the Middle East this week to try to advance U.S. efforts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, The Wall Street Journal reported. Kushner plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and travel to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to discuss “their priorities and potential next steps” in the peace process, a White House official told The Journal.
Clarke not going. Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke won’t be working for the Department of Homeland Security after all. Clarke told John Kelly, the secretary of Homeland Security, on Friday that he had changed his mind about taking an assistant secretary post. Clarke has compared Black Lives Matter to ISIS. Four people died last year in the county jail, including a man who died of dehydration. CNN reported that Clarke plagiarized his master’s thesis.
Flip-flop. The Justice Department which had supported workers’ rights in a case before the Supreme Court has switched sides to support the employer, an oil company. The case, NLRB v. Murphy Oil, involves an agreement that forces employees to give up their right to sue an employer in a class action lawsuit.
Jet downed. The U.S. military shot down a Syrian Air Force jet that it said dropped bombs near U.S.-backed forces in northern Syria. The plane was shot down near Raqqah, a city held by the Islamic State. Hundreds of U.S. special operations forces are helping Syrian rebels fight the Islamic State.
