CRIME/LEGISLATION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Senate on Tuesday [12-18-18] night overwhelmingly passed the biggest overhaul to the criminal justice system in decades, giving a win to President Donald Trump and a bipartisan group of advocates and lawmakers. Tuesday’s vote caps more than a year of negotiations to create more rehabilitation programs and ease mandatory minimum sentences for some drug-related crimes. The bill, which passed 87-12, brought together many unlikely allies, including a group backed by the conservative Koch network, the American Civil Liberties Union, the White House and senators from both sides of the aisle. The Senate’s passage of the bill brings to a close more than a year of often-fraught negotiations, with some Republican senators earlier this month essentially writing off the measure as dead. Although the bill was a priority for Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was reluctant until last week to bring to the floor legislation that divides his caucus. Trump had personally lobbied the majority leader to bring the bill up for a vote. McConnell ultimately voted in favor of the legislation.”
–Marianne Levine, “Senate approves Trump-backed criminal justice overhaul,” Politico, December 18, 2018 9:42 pm